{"id":31428,"date":"2026-01-24T11:05:23","date_gmt":"2026-01-24T16:05:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/?p=31428"},"modified":"2026-01-24T11:05:23","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T16:05:23","slug":"saturday-bonus-questions-and-answers-012426","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/saturday-bonus-questions-and-answers-012426\/","title":{"rendered":"Saturday Bonus Questions and Answers \u2013 012426"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 24pt;\"> Saturday Bonus Questions and Answers \u2013 012426<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">This weekend will bring (according to the Weather Channel and Accuweather), bitter cold, a foot of snow, and a lot of wind. A good weekend to binge-watch Gilligan&#8217;s Island &#8211; or other intellectual show of your choice.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">And today, of course, is Saturday, and it\u2019s time for another edition of Saturday Bonus Questions and Answers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Sometimes the best tips and tricks are hidden in the questions and answers we publish. We rarely post questions and answers on this website. Today, we\u2019re featuring some of the questions and answers from past issues of our <a href=\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/join.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">InfoAve Weekly<\/a> newsletters. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">These questions &amp; answers were selected at random from past InfoAve Weekly newsletters.<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 24pt; color: #3366ff;\"><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>Saturday Bonus Questions and Answers \u2013 012426<\/strong><\/span><strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><strong><span class=\"auto-style1\">Cheryl wants to save files as PDFs <\/span><\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Hello, my computer gurus. Would you be so kind as to recommend a PDF program I can use? I want to be able to scan either from the PDF program itself to my computer OR from my printer to my computer. I do not use Adobe for anything. If I scan a document from my printer to my computer, I need a PDF program on the computer so that the file will be saved as a PDF. Thank you for your time. Hope you both are doing well. Take care.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><strong><span class=\"auto-style1\">Our answer<\/span><br \/>\n<\/strong>Hi Cheryl. Both Windows 10 and Windows 11 have a feature called Print to PDF.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/how-to-use-windows-print-to-pdf-feature\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Here\u2019s our tutorial showing you how to convert any document or picture into a PDF file<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Please let us know if this helps, Cheryl.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Cheryl wrote back: <em>\u201cThank you for your prompt response and the information. Have a wonderful day. Feel free to post my question if you think it might be helpful. Cheryl.\u201d<\/em> <\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><strong>Patsy wants our help, but her internet is not reliable<\/strong><\/span>.<br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">I have considered purchasing a senior repair from you. But my internet is very slow. I am afraid that if I needed help and you started to repair my PC, my internet would go down in the middle of the repair. I can have a connection, then no connection, then a connection. This goes on all the time. My PC is in direct line with my modem. My connection does the same thing on my tablet and my phone, so I know it is my internet. I keep waiting for better service in my area, but so far, nothing. I would like to be able to use your help, but this would be almost impossible. Keep up the good work.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><strong>Our answer<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Hi Patsy. If your internet cuts in and out, you should call your internet provider and have them make sure your modem is working correctly. When modems (and routers) get older, they start dropping the connection. And usually, the dropouts become more and more frequent. Your service provider can run tests on your modem from their location \u2013 they won\u2019t need to come to your house to test it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">We can work with slow connections down to about 2 Mbps. The only way we\u2019ll know for sure is if you do a speed test. It\u2019s easy to do. Just go to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fast.com\/\">www.fast.com<\/a>, wait for a few seconds, and it will show your download speed first. That\u2019s all we need to know: your download speed measured in Megabits per second (Mbps). If it\u2019s at least 2 Mbps, we can connect. Anything lower is a problem.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">So just let us know what your Internet provider tells you and what Fast.com says. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">If your internet provider finds no problem with your hardware (modem\/router\/lines), it may be your wireless network adapter. If that\u2019s the problem, you can easily fix that yourself by buying a USB wireless adapter and plugging it into a USB port, and following the instructions that came with the adapter. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/solve-many-common-wifi-problems-with-a-usb-wifi-adapter\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">See this page to learn more about USB wireless adapters.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><strong>Janice wants a program to do images, edges, frames, and fades. etc. <\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Hello! Can you recommend a safe and free program for putting edges on graphics? Fade-out, frames, etc Thanks, Janice.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><strong>Our answer<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Hi Janice. There is a website that can do amazing things with image edges, including solid borders, stylized borders, faded borders, frames, and all kinds of other photo effects \u2013 all without installing anything. It works great, it\u2019s free, and may soon be a Cloudeight site pick.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">It\u2019s called Lunapic, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www9.lunapic.com\/editor\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">you can check it out here<\/a>. When you first land on the page, click on \u201cBorders\u201d at the top, and you\u2019ll see a drop-down menu with all the border options available. And with each option, you\u2019ll see a sample of what that option looks like.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">You can do a lot of other stuff too\u2026 I played around only with the border &amp; text effects, and here are just a few examples.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"auto-style786\" style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><span class=\"auto-style9\"> <span class=\"auto-style737\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/images\/2022\/fade.jpg\" alt=\"Cloudeight InfoAve\" width=\"600\" height=\"820\" \/><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Hey! It\u2019s Christmas any time of the year!<\/span><br \/>\n<span class=\"auto-style786\" style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><span class=\"auto-style9\"> <span class=\"auto-style737\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/images\/2022\/fadexmas.jpg\" alt=\"Cloudeight InfoAve\" width=\"600\" height=\"420\" \/><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"auto-style786\" style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><span class=\"auto-style9\"> <span class=\"auto-style737\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/images\/2022\/fadexmas2.gif\" alt=\"Cloudeight InfoAve\" width=\"600\" height=\"428\" \/><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">There are thousands of things you can do with your images on that site. All you have to do is upload the image you want to work with and use the tools to create whatever effects you want. There are tutorials to help, and you\u2019ll always see a preview of the effect before you apply it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Play around with it for a while, and we think you\u2019ll find it does just about anything you\u2019ll want to do with an image. And it\u2019s free, and you don\u2019t have to give them an email address.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Please let us know what you think.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">\u2014\u2014\u2013<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Janice wrote back: <em>\u201cHey! Thanks! You guys know everything! Glad I know you! J.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/direct\/\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"auto-style1\" src=\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/images\/2018\/direct18.png\" alt=\"Cloudeight Direct Computer Care \" width=\"422\" height=\"208\" \/><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/direct\/\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">The Best Computer Care and Repair \u2013 Anywhere!<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">We can fix your computer while you watch. You never have to leave your home. Just sit back, relax, and watch us work. <a href=\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/direct\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Get PC service<\/span><\/a> from folks you trust at the best prices you\u2019ll find anywhere.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/direct\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Get more information here.<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><strong>Clyde wants to know more about upgrading to Windows 11<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">I have Windows 10. Will I lose the desktop screen I have now on Windows 10 if I update to Windows 11?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><strong>Our answer<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Hi Clyde.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">If you decide to update to Windows 11, your programs and your desktop will remain the same \u2013 but Windows 11 has a different \u201clook\u201d, so your taskbar will be centered rather than aligned to the left. You can change it so it\u2019s left-aligned if you want to, but by default, it will be centered.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">There are a lot of changes, especially with some of the Windows apps such as Settings, File Explorer, etc., but the \u201clook\u201d of your desktop should not change other than the taskbar.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">We hope this answers your question, Clyde.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><strong><span class=\"auto-style1\">Beth wants to know how to make a bootable Windows 11 USB drive.<\/span><br \/>\n<\/strong>Hi, my computer gurus. I have a question that I would like you to answer. How do I create a bootable Windows 11 USB flash drive?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><strong><span class=\"auto-style1\">Our answer<\/span><\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Hi Beth. Before we answer your question, we want our readers to know that we\u2019re including Windows 10 in our answer for our friends who are using Windows 10.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">To create a bootable USB drive, you will need a USB drive that is at least 8GB in size and a copy of the Windows 10 or 11 installation media. You can download installation media from Microsoft from the following links:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/software-download\/windows10\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> Windows 10 (for those who are reading this and using Windows 10).<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/images\/2023\/10iso.png\" alt=\"Windows 10 Bootable USB - Cloudeight\" width=\"600\" height=\"367\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Please read the info in the section we labeled \u201cImportant\u201d. It contains instructions for creating a bootable Windows 10 USB flash drive.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/software-download\/windows11\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> Windows 11<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/images\/2023\/11iso.png\" alt=\"Bootable Windows 10 flash drive - Cloudeight\" width=\"600\" height=\"224\" \/><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Please read the info in the section we labeled \u201cImportant\u201d. It contains instructions for creating a bootable Windows 11 USB flash drive.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">The bootable USB flash drive you create can be used to install Windows 10 or 11 on your computer; it can also be used to boot your computer should you have problems starting Windows.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">I hope this helps, Beth.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/images\/2020\/line18a.png\" alt=\"Cloudeight InfoAve Premium\" width=\"600\" height=\"4\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><strong><span class=\"auto-style1\">Bill is using Bitwarden and Emsisoft, but his email address was still compromised.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">I have Bitwarden and Emsisoft installed, yet still, somehow, my email address was compromised.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">I have been a subscriber to your newsletter for over a decade, and I know you two will never steer us wrong. I trust you implicitly, and I have recommended you to my family members and friends. I hope you can help me understand how my email was compromised, even though I use Emsisoft and one of your recommended password managers. Thanks, Bill.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><strong><span class=\"auto-style1\">Our answer<\/span><\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Hi Bill. Your email was not compromised; your email password was. Security programs and password managers don\u2019t have anything to do with hackers breaching websites and collecting usernames and passwords. Security breaches occur on Websites that log into and have nothing to do with your computer, your security software, or your password manager.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">For instance, when Equifax was breached, criminals stole user information and passwords from Equifax, not from personal computers. The same is true of any breach you read about in the news. If your information is stored by a site that is breached, then your information could be compromised.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">You really can\u2019t prevent companies on the web from being hacked; all you can do is use very strong passwords, and if your email passwords are stolen in an online data breach, change your password immediately. It\u2019s also a good idea to change your passwords for sites that possess your personal info every few months.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">There\u2019s nothing you can install on your computer or that you could have done to prevent your email address or other personal information from being stolen by hackers from a site that you entrusted with your personal info.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">We hope this helps you, Bill.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/images\/2019\/ro2019.png\" alt=\"Reg Organizer: Cloudeight recommended and endorsed.\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><strong>Now available: Reg Organizer 9.88<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">If you purchased or renewed Reg Organizer through Cloudeight within the last 12 months, you\u2019re entitled to a free version upgrade to Reg Organizer 9.88. Works great with Windows 10 and Windows 11.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/ro\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Save $14 on Reg Organizer right now!<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/ro\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Reg Organizer \u2013 A Swiss Army Knife of Windows Tools \u2013 Works Great on Windows 10 and Windows 11<\/strong><\/a><\/span><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><strong><span class=\"auto-style1\">Michael says one of our site picks is blocked by Emsisoft<\/span><\/strong><\/span>.<br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Hello. Several minutes ago, Emsisoft blocked several pages that were trying to load from Oldgeeks\u2019 website. I have only visited their website a couple of times based on your recommendation, and I think I only downloaded one program sometime last year. Could this have been a false negative? Emsisoft didn\u2019t log the event. Thanks for your help on this question. Michael<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"auto-style1\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><strong>Our answer<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Hi Michael. As far as I know, we have never recommended Old Geeks or OlderGeeks. I can\u2019t find anything we ever wrote recommending it.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">I visited OlderGeeks.com and found it not only blocked by Emsisoft but also flagged by Google. See the images below.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/images\/2023\/oldergeeks.png\" alt=\"\" align=\"bottom\" border=\"0\" hspace=\"0\" \/><\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Emsisoft flags oldergeeks.com, but does allow you to choose to visit the site. I would not recommend you override Emsisoft in this case. As you can see below, it\u2019s also flagged by Google.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/images\/2023\/oldergeeks1.png\" alt=\"\" align=\"bottom\" border=\"0\" hspace=\"0\" \/><\/span><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">If you can tell me where we mentioned Oldergeeks, I will make sure it\u2019s removed from anything we wrote \u2013 things can change over time, and we will always update anything incorrect as soon as we find out.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">We would suggest you steer clear of Oldergeeks.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<div>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><strong><span class=\"auto-style1\">Robyn is searching for a free office suite<\/span><\/strong><\/span>.<br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">I am searching for a free program that works like Microsoft Office. Do you have any advice regarding WPS Office? I have used Apache Open Office, but for some reason, I keep having problems with it. I have enjoyed your newsletter for many years. Keep up the good work. Cheers, Robyn. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><strong><span class=\"auto-style1\">Our answer<\/span><\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Hi Robyn. WPS Office is no longer free, we\u2019re sorry to say. If you\u2019re having problems with Open Office, you might want to give LibreOffice a try. It\u2019s free and is one of our recommended free alternatives to MS Office.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">LibreOffice is our top choice of free programs that can do almost everything MS Office \/ MS 365 can do. This suite has alternatives for Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Access.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">The LibreOffice suite has six programs: Writer (Word), Impress (PowerPoint), Calc (Excel), Base (Access), Math, and Draw. The biggest drawback to LibreOffice is that you can\u2019t pick and choose which of these you want to install \u2013 you have to install the entire suite.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/images\/2019\/libre.png\" alt=\"LibreOffice- Cloudeight Freeware Pick\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">All of the programs in the LibreOffice suite can open, edit, and save to Office 2007 and all the newer Office (MS 365) file formats.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.libreoffice.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> You can read more about and\/or download LibreOffice from here.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><strong><span class=\"auto-style1\">Des asks about SFC and DISM scans<\/span><\/strong><\/span>.<br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Hi Guys. Thanks for your help in the past; as always, it\u2019s greatly appreciated. A new issue I stumbled on while researching SFC \/scannow, which I use regularly. Apparently, there is another test that can be used to repair windows as well, and can be used after running Scannow. That is repairing Windows using the DISM Tool. Firstly, do you recommend it? And if you do, at what point should it be used? Also, can the ordinary layman with limited computer knowledge use it without risk to make sure that Windows is OK? Many thanks. Des<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><strong><span class=\"auto-style1\">Our answer<\/span><\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Hi Des. Rather than going into the hows and whys of running SFC and DISM scans, I\u2019m going to send you off to read one of several posts we\u2019ve written about those two scans.<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/using-sfc-and-dism-to-repair-windows\/\"> Here\u2019s an updated article<\/a> about running SFC and DISM scans on Windows 10 or 11. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">I\u2019m pretty sure that will answer your question and then some.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/donation.htm\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/images\/2021\/donate2021.png\" alt=\"Help us help you.\" width=\"560\" height=\"186\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: 18pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">THANK YOU FOR HELPING US!<\/span><br \/>\n<\/strong><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">When you support us with a small gift, you help us continue our mission to keep you informed, separate the truth from the hyperbole, and help you stay safer online. Plus, our computer tips make your computer easier to use.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Did you know that we provide support to thousands of people? Every week, we help dozens of people via email at no charge. The questions and answers you see in our newsletters are from the email answers and help we provide to everyone free of charge.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Thanks to your gifts, we do more than provide this free newsletter. We help you recognize online threats, fight for your online privacy, help you navigate the Web safely, provide suggestions for safe, free software and websites, and help you get more out of your PC.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"auto-style1\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/donation.htm\"><strong>Please help us keep up the good fight with a small gift.<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Would you be interested in making an automatic monthly gift? <a href=\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/gift\/\">Visit this page<\/a>. Please help us keep on helping you\u2026 and help us keep you safe on the Web.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><strong>Charles has some questions about Gmail attachments and addressing<\/strong><\/span>.<br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Good morning to my favorite Computer Geeks. I have a question about Gmail. As you know, attachments are a source of many of our computer problems. I would like to find a way to filter out any emails that have attachments and put them in a folder that I can review before opening. Also, I am getting a lot of spam emails that don\u2019t even have my Gmail address in them. For example, my email is &#x6b;*&#x2a;&#x2a;G&#x2a;&#42;*&#x40;&#103;m&#x61;i&#x6c;&#x2e;c&#x6f;&#109;. Emails with the address &#x43;&#72;AR&#x4c;&#x45;Se&#x39;&#x40;ao&#x6c;&#x2e;&#99;o&#x6d; come into my email inbox. If I weren\u2019t careful and didn\u2019t look at the address, I might have opened it. How does this happen? Thanks for all you do.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><strong>Our answer<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Hi Charles. Thanks! You can create message rules in Gmail for just about anything, including attachments. If you want to filter emails that have attachments, just do this.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Highlight an email that has an attachment, click on the 3 vertical dots that appear in the menu above the inbox, and select \u201cFilter messages like these\u201d from the drop-down menu.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"auto-style786\" style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><span class=\"auto-style9\"> <span class=\"auto-style737\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/images\/2022\/gfilter.png\" alt=\"Cloudeight InfoAve\" width=\"600\" height=\"315\" \/><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">After you do that,t you\u2019ll see the following dialog. Tick the box next to \u201cHas attachment\u201d, then click \u201cCreate filter\u201d. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"auto-style786\" style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><span class=\"auto-style9\"> <span class=\"auto-style737\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/images\/2022\/gfilter1.png%20\" alt=\"Cloudeight InfoAve\" width=\"600\" height=\"288\" \/><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Then, from the dialog that appears, select the option to apply the label. A label in the Gmail world is a folder in anybody else\u2019s world. So all mail that has an attachment will be labeled that way. To create a label for emails with attachments, select \u201cApply the label\u201d (see below) and give it whatever name you like.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"auto-style786\" style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><span class=\"auto-style9\"> <span class=\"auto-style737\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/images\/2022\/gfilter2.png\" alt=\"Cloudeight InfoAve\" width=\"501\" height=\"785\" \/><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">As far as the address you see in the \u201cTo\u201d field\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">I can send a message to B&#x69;&#x6c;l&#x79;&#x42;u&#x64;&#x64;&#64;&#115;&#x65;a&#102;&#x65;a&#114;&#x65;r&#115;&#x2e;or&#x67; and put you and anyone else I want in the CC or BCC line. And when you get it, you\u2019ll see it\u2019s addressed to Billy Budd, but you got a copy of it at your address. A lot of spam is sent this way, and a lot of people don\u2019t know how to send emails to multiple email addresses without exposing everyone else\u2019s address.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">We hope this helps you, Charles.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><strong>Barb\u2019s Windows 10 computer is having sleep issues<\/strong><\/span>.<br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">I 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 much slower computer, and it was not messed up with the update, as was 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. I don\u2019t know what people who don\u2019t follow you make out. I know I would be lost. Thanks so much for your help. Barb.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><strong>Our answer<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Hi Barb. Thank you. It seems 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<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">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 mod,e and you still save power. Depending on your monitor or laptop screen, en it can use 100 to 200 watts, whereas the computer\/laptop itself, elf when idle, uses only 7 to 15 watts (about the same as or a bit more than a nightlight).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">We do practice what we preach. Here is how I have my laptop&#8217;s power settings. I leave my laptop plugged in 99% of the time. This laptop is over 7 years old. I have been setting 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<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/images\/2020\/psettings.png\" alt=\"Cloudeight InfoAve\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Assuming you\u2019re not using a laptop, right-click on your start button, click Power Options, and do this:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Under Screen, \u201cTurn off after 10 minutes\u201d.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Under \u201cSleep,\u201d set it to \u201cNever\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">If it is a laptop, under Screen, set it to 5 minutes when on battery and 15 minutes when plugged in.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">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<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">If you want to try to fix your sleep mode, do this.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">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<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><strong>Judy wants to know if this program will speed up her Internet connection<\/strong><\/span>.<br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Recently, I did a speed test on my laptop using <a href=\"https:\/\/speedtest.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">speedtest.org<\/a>. 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 the Internet connection. I wonder if you know of it and if it can make a difference. I don\u2019t want to put it on my computer for fear that it is Spyware. I value your opinion. Thanks for your time. Judy,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><strong>Our answer<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Hi 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 really 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<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">It is not spyware, but I think it is more of a psychological fix than one that will make a real difference.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p class=\"auto-style809\"><span style=\"font-size: 18pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><strong>Don\u2019t need any of our products or services right now?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/donation.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/images\/2021\/donate2021.png\" alt=\"Cloudeight Winter Donation Drive\" \/><\/a><\/span><br class=\"auto-style13\" \/><br class=\"auto-style13\" \/><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/donation.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"auto-style808\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">Please help us to keep on helping you!<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"auto-style13\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">When you support us with a small gift, you help us continue our mission to keep you informed, separate the truth from the hyperbole, and help you stay safer online. Plus, our computer tips make your computer easier to use.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"auto-style13\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Did you know that we provide support to thousands of people? Every week, we help dozens of people via email at no charge. The questions and answers you see in our newsletters are from the email answers and help we provide to everyone free of charge.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"auto-style13\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Thanks to your gifts, we do a lot more than provide this free newsletter. We help you recognize online threats, fight for your online privacy, provide the knowledge you need to navigate the Web safely, provide suggestions for safe, free software and websites, and help you get more out of your PC.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"auto-style13\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/thundercloud.net\/donation.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> P<strong>lease help us keep up the good fight with a small gift.<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"auto-style8\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><strong><span class=\"auto-style12\">Are you interested in making an automatic monthly gift? <\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"auto-style8\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/thundercloud.net\/gift\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"auto-style12\">Visit this page<\/span><\/a><\/span><span class=\"auto-style12\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">. Help us keep helping you\u2026 and help you stay safe on the Web. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Saturday Bonus Questions and Answers \u2013 012426 This weekend will bring (according to the Weather Channel and Accuweather), bitter cold, a foot of snow, and a lot of wind. A good weekend to binge-watch Gilligan&#8217;s Island &#8211; or other intellectual show of your choice. And today, of course, is Saturday, and it\u2019s time for another edition of Saturday\u2026 <span class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/saturday-bonus-questions-and-answers-012426\/\">Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25613,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3389,3764,4450,2247,4515,1668,1433,4517,4524,4518,1745,1,4488,3979,4485,4439,4353,3948,4221,4299,3602,10,1961,2366],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31428"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31428"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31428\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31429,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31428\/revisions\/31429"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25613"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}