Happy St. Patrick’s Day a couple of days early. We hope you enjoy green beer or whatever you like that’s green. Not, money, EB!\u00a0 And yes, you’re right! It’s<\/span> Saturday and time for another Saturday Bonus Questions and Answers edition. 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 It’s springtime and it’s time to get your computer ready for summer. With our new Spring Checkup, Cleanup, and Optimization service, we’ll make that EASY for you.<\/span><\/p>\n We’ll check your PC, clean it up, optimize it, and get it ready for summer.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Here’s what we’ll do for you:<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Get your Spring PC Checkup, Cleanup, and Optimization now! It’s only $20 and only for a limited time!<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Saturday Bonus Questions and Answers – 031525<\/strong><\/span> Steven asks about clearing browser history & more<\/strong><\/span> Our answer<\/strong><\/span> Chrome does not have \u201cFavorites\u201d it has bookmarks. Deleting browser history does not remove bookmarks. I think by \u201cicons\u201d you are referring to the \u201cfavicons\u201d (AKA shortcut icon, website icon, tab icon, URL icon, or bookmark icon) that most sites display (like we display a little dragon), and yes, those will disappear if you clear your browser\u2019s cache and history, but they\u2019ll reappear when you reopen that page. The reason for this is that \u201cfavicons\u201d aren\u2019t stored on your computer \u2013 they come from the bookmarked site \u2013 and will reappear when you visit the site again. The favicons will remain visible as they are stored in your browser\u2019s cache. If you want to learn more about favicons, see this page<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n So, everything you describe is a result of clearing your browser\u2019s (Chrome) history\/cache.<\/span><\/p>\n We recommend clearing history\/cache every few weeks. However, if you visit a scam site or phishing site and you are getting popups, ads, or other problems related to your encounters with scam\/phishing\/malware sites, then clearing the browser\u2019s cache and history is a priority.<\/span><\/p>\n We hope this helps you, Steven.<\/span><\/p>\n Sandi wants to know how to show more icons on the Windows 11 taskbar <\/strong><\/span> Our answer<\/strong><\/span> We hope this helps you, Sandi.<\/span><\/p>\n Tim has some questions about VPNs<\/strong><\/span> Our answer<\/strong><\/span> You can install a VPN app on your device, or a VPN extension in your browser that allows you to establish a secure connection with a VPN server.<\/span><\/p>\n A VPN connection creates a secure connection between you and the internet. Via the VPN everything you do on the internet is routed through an encrypted virtual tunnel. This disguises your IP address when you use the internet, making its location invisible to everyone. A VPN service usually allows you to choose the location that you want to appear to be from. You\u2019re in Pittsburgh, but you could choose a VPN server in Los Angeles or London, or anywhere your VPN service has servers.<\/span><\/p>\n Your ISP is involved only in connecting you to the VPN service you use. Normally, your ISP logs everything you do and everywhere you go on the internet, but when you use a VPN service, your ISP only knows you\u2019re connected to a VPN service what you do after you connect to the VPN service your ISP does not know. Many think this provides more security since their ISP cannot log their internet activities. But it\u2019s the devil you know theory. Many VPNs claim they don\u2019t keep logs of your activities, however, many do, and the only proof you have that they don\u2019t log your internet activities is that they say they don\u2019t.<\/span><\/p>\n Here\u2019s a quick summary:<\/span><\/p>\n Without a VPN service\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n YOU>>YOUR ISP>>THE INTERNET<\/span><\/p>\n With a VPN service\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n YOU >> YOUR ISP>>YOUR VPN SERVICE >>THE INTERNET<\/span><\/p>\n A VPN service has nothing to do with your ISP, your router, or your modem. ISPs and routers\/modems just get you onto the Internet. Without a VPN everything you do on the Internet goes through your ISP so your ISP can \u201csee\u201d everything you do and everywhere you go on the Internet and keep logs of all your online activities. With a VPN everything you do on the Internet once you\u2019ve connected to your VPN service goes through your VPN. All your ISP knows (and logs) is that you\u2019ve connected to a VPN server. But it\u2019s important to remember that your VPN service may be logging everything you do on the Internet too\u2026 even if they claim they don\u2019t.<\/span><\/p>\n Let us know if this helps you, Tim.<\/span> Please help us to keep on helping you!<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n This week we gladly helped dozens of people solve their computer problems by email quickly and free of charge.<\/span><\/p>\n If you don\u2019t 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 useful 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\u2026 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><\/p>\n So if you don\u2019t need any of our products or services right now, please help us by donating right now<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Interested in making a monthly gift? Visit this page<\/strong><\/a>. Help us to keep on helping you!<\/span><\/p>\n Thank you so much for your support!<\/span> Kat wants us to clarify USB drives, USB flash drives, and thumb drives You two are worth more than all the \u201cDummy\u201d books I ever read (going back to Word 7) \u2014 & easier to understand. I bet if you had a nickel for all the questions you\u2019ve answered, you two would be enjoying an extended, round-the-world vacation. Bless you both, & Aloha \u2018Oe Kat.<\/span><\/p>\n Our answer<\/strong><\/span> USB flash drives are also called USB thumb drives or pen drives, but they are the same. They are small drives that plug into a USB port and the most popular sizes are 8GB, 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, and 128 GB. That means they hold anywhere from 8 gigabytes to 128 gigabytes (GB) of data. USB flash drives are inexpensive and don\u2019t require any preparation \u2013 just plug them in and they\u2019ll show up as a drive in File Explorer. You can buy a 64 GB flash drive for around $12 and a 128 GB flash drive for less than $20. The smaller ones are even cheaper.<\/span><\/p>\n A USB drive can be a thumb\/flash\/pen drive or an external hard drive which usually holds between 1 and 4 TB (terabytes). A terabyte is approximately 1000 gigabytes. External drives normally come with installation software but you do not need to use it \u2013 in fact, we recommend that you do not. You can plug an external hard drive into a USB port and Windows will recognize it right away and you\u2019ll be able to see it in File Explorer. A 2TB external drive costs between $55 and $80. You can spend more, but there\u2019s no reason to.<\/span> We hope this helps you, Kat.<\/span><\/p>\n Ralph says his mouse pointer keeps disappearing<\/strong><\/span> Our answer<\/strong><\/span> A disappearing mouse pointer is a very common problem. The easiest solution is to change the size and color of your mouse pointer. We wrote a tutorial to help people do this. Here is our tutorial for Windows 10<\/a>. It shows you how you can make your mouse pointer much larger and make it any color you like.<\/span><\/p>\n We hope this helps you, Ralph.<\/span><\/p>\n Margaret wants to set Google Chrome\u2019s page zoom to 75% permanently<\/strong><\/span> Our answer<\/strong><\/span> Open the \u201cPage Zoom\u201d drop-down menu and choose the zoom setting you want. See the screenshot below.<\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019m not a Facebook expert so the following info comes from Facebook\u2019s support page:<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cTap in the top right of Facebook. Scroll down and tap Settings. Scroll down to the Your Facebook Information section and tap Account Ownership and Control. Tap Deactivation and Deletion, and select Delete Account.\u201d <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n We hope this helps you, Margaret.<\/span><\/p>\n It’s springtime and it’s time to get your computer ready for summer. With our new Spring Checkup, Cleanup, and Optimization service, we’ll make that EASY for you.<\/span><\/p>\n We’ll check your PC, clean it up, optimize it, and get it ready for summer.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Here’s what we’ll do for you:<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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\n![\"Cloudeight](\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/images\/2025\/spring25a,.png\")
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\nIT’S TIME TO GET YOUR COMPUTER READY FOR SUMMER!<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n\n
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\nDo you recommend clearing all history from Google Chrome? The last time I did that all of the circular icons which I use frequently disappeared from the opening page of Google Chrome. Also, all of my favorites (bookmarks) changed from icons to blank pages (icons not showing until I clicked and opened them again).<\/span><\/p>\n
\nHi Steve. The site logos (icons) you see when you open Chrome are the sites you visit most. These are based on your browsing history. When you clear your history they\u2019re removed. You can add them back by visiting your favorite sites again.<\/span><\/p>\n
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\nSome of the icons on my Windows 11 taskbar are hidden and some I can see. How do I get the hidden ones back so I can see them? This has just happened today. Thank you for your help.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nHi Sandi. Right-click on your taskbar, and open Taskbar settings. In \u201cTaskbar settings\u201d, click on \u201cOther system tray icons\u201d and turn on the ones you want to show on your taskbar.<\/span><\/p>\n
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\nHi Guys! Tim from Pittsburgh (again)- regarding VPNs, I am confused- if I sign up for a VPN service, where does that coverage begin? My internet comes from Comcast cable, through my modem and router, to my streaming devices, and to my PC. So, am I \u201ccovered\u201d at the PC, or the Modem, or what? It\u2019s not something that I install on my PC, is it? I don\u2019t get it! (don\u2019t want to go into the plus and minus of VPNs) just can\u2019t figure out how it works! Hopefully, you can clear up another conundrum for this 80-year-old user. Thanks!<\/span><\/p>\n
\nHi Tim. I think you\u2019re misunderstanding what a VPN is and what it does. A VPN is a Virtual Private Network.<\/span><\/p>\n
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\nTim wrote back: \u201cTo quote Johnny Nash, \u2018I can see clearly now\u2026\u2019 I think I\u2019ve got it! Many thanks!\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n
\n![\"Help](\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/images\/2021\/donate2021.png\")
<\/span><\/p>\nMake a small donation and help us help you!<\/a><\/span><\/h2>\n
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\n<\/strong>Please clarify information regarding flash\/thumb\/USB drives. Barring Windows registry & Windows backup: can one of those drives be used for multiple storage without wiping what was stored? Say, storing pictures, then adding family addresses, or saved emails, etc.? Also, does the USB require any initial preparation? Do I just plug it in and then what?<\/span><\/p>\n
\nHi Kat. Thanks for your nice comments.<\/span><\/p>\n
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\n<\/strong>You can only use a drive to its capacity. Once it reaches its capacity, you won\u2019t be able to store any more data on it without deleting some or all of the data stored. So, the bigger the drive, the more you can store without removing what\u2019s already on it.<\/span><\/p>\n
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\nEvery so often my mouse pointer disappears. I can get it back by pressing Windows key+D or Alt+F4 but I would like to know why it does this and how to stop it.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nHi Ralph. Your mouse pointer is not disappearing, it\u2019s just very difficult to see because of the size and color and whatever background is behind it. When you press the Windows key+D or Alt+F4 your desktop appears and the color(s) of your desktop make the mouse pointer easier to see.<\/span><\/p>\n
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\nIs there a way to permanently set the zoom in Google to 75%? It keeps going back to 100%. Also, how do I delete a Facebook account to which I accidentally signed in? I know you are busy and I appreciate any help you can give me. Thank you.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nHi Margaret. Type or copy & paste chrome:\/\/settings\/appearance in Chrome\u2019s address bar and press Enter \u2014 Or click the three vertical dots icon in the top right of Chrome. From the drop-down menu, click \u201cSettings.\u201d Scroll down to the \u201cAppearance\u201d section.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Cloudeight](\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/images\/2022\/pagezoom.png%20\")
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\nIT’S TIME TO GET YOUR COMPUTER READY FOR SUMMER!<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n\n