Ask Leo!

How do I use Facebook safely?

2012-02-10T15:12:46-08:00

Facebook has become an incredibly popular social media site with people connecting more than ever. Along with Facebook's features come concerns about privacy and online safety.

In this video from an Ask Leo! webinar, I'll discuss some of the things to watch for, some of the things to check, and just some common sense rules to keep in mind when using any social media service.

Continue reading How do I use Facebook safely?
Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
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Does deleting my email or email account really delete all my messages and attachments?

2012-02-10T14:41:59-08:00

Are email messages and attachments located on email accounts with Yahoo!, Gmail, and Hotmail really gone when you delete them?

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It seems that such a direct and simple question would warrant a direct and simple answer.

In a practical sense, I suppose, the answer would be "Yes, as far as you're concerned, they're really gone".

But that little bit of qualification - "as far as you're concerned" - opens up a veritable Pandora's box of possibilities.

Whether those possibilities matter depends more on why you're asking than anything else.

Continue reading Does deleting my email or email account really delete all my messages and attachments?
Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
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How long can I keep running my copy of Windows?

2012-02-10T13:28:36-08:00

My OS is Vista and Microsoft intends to stop support on 10-Apr-2012. I know that thousands (if not many more) people throughout the world are very concerned about this. I personally am now very pleased with Vista. I have tested it against other computers running XP and Windows 7 and found that in all cases, it compared more than favorably. This is in no small way due to your newsletters as by using image backups, I have been able to modify Vista considerably. Your advice in this matter would I know be gratefully received by many people, especially those on tight budgets.

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While I've rarely heard of this concern about Windows Vista, the sentiment actually applies across all versions of Windows.

How long can you keep using it?

Well, the glib answer is: as long as you want, as long as you understand the risks.

The more practical answer is: a lot longer than you may think.

Just ask the millions still using Windows XP.

Continue reading How long can I keep running my copy of Windows?
Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
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How do download accelerators work?

2012-02-09T13:46:28-08:00

I recently downloaded two sizable content files, each 1.1GB. My FIOS is 20/5. The first file took X minutes to download. The second download link (from the same company) to me to a "content downloader" and the file of the same size took less than half the time. I mean, it was quite noticeably faster. I wonder how their "downloader" program can cut the download time of a huge file in half because my internet connection is still 20/5.

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Download accelerators certainly don't make your internet connection any faster, but they do sometimes seem like they do.

A normal file download is essentially a file copy operation. A file on some remote server is copied to your computer.

A download accelerator does that too, but it can make use of a few tricks to simply be more efficient at it; sometimes, much more efficient.

Continue reading How do download accelerators work?
Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
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How do I recover my email password from my mail program?

2012-02-08T11:43:17-08:00

If you've forgotten your email password, perhaps because you let your email program - Outlook Express, in this example - remember your password for you, there are totally legitimate tools that will display what your email program has remembered for you. That's both convenient ... and scary.

In this video from an Ask Leo! webinar, I'll walk through the fate of Outlook Express and point you at the tool that can be used to display what it's remembered for you.

Continue reading How do I recover my email password from my mail program?
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How do I backup my Yahoo! Mail?

2012-02-07T13:52:51-08:00

Every message that I have sent and saved is on my Yahoo! account. I would like to download all of this material - to a CD, a memory stick, my computer, anywhere! I don't know how to do this. Could you help me on this?

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This is one reason why I rarely recommend Yahoo! as an email provider. They have a nice UI and it's a reasonably good service, but they provide no officially supported way to back up your email.

So, we have to go through some slightly unofficial back doors.

It may seem a tad intimidating at first, but it's well worth it - without a backup, you're at risk of losing everything.

Continue reading How do I backup my Yahoo! Mail?
Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
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How do I get rid of IE9's "Speed up browsing by disabling add-ons" notification?

2012-02-04T16:43:16-08:00

I am running Windows 7 Pro, 32 bit. Every time I open IE-9, a pop-up appears, asking me if I want to speed up browsing by disabling add-ons. How do I get rid of this?

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Unfortunately, you can't.

But we can definitely make it significantly less likely to happen.

The problem is that this isn't just a simple informative notification. It's actually telling you that some of the add-ons currently loading in IE are taking too long to load.

Continue reading How do I get rid of IE9's "Speed up browsing by disabling add-ons" notification?
Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
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How do I delete a contact in Hotmail?

2012-02-04T10:34:48-08:00

How do I delete Hotmail contacts that were added to my contact list that were not added by me?

If you forward an e-mail and click To:, all of the contacts come up but there is no option to delete from the contact list. There are several other options, but no delete.

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Depending on how you're entering in the email address, many email services let you just right-click on the suggested item and there'll be an option to delete.

Not so with Hotmail.

On top of that, there's some added confusion.

You may be seeing more than just your contact list.

Continue reading How do I delete a contact in Hotmail?
Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
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7 Things Your Sysadmin Probably Won't Tell You

2012-02-03T18:00:00-08:00

In addition to being the "Leo" in Ask Leo!, I also administer several web servers and websites for a few friends as well as host email accounts on my own servers for a few others.

What I've come to realize over time is that in doing so, these people have placed a tremendous amount of control in my hands. More than you might imagine.

What I've also realized is that this isn't uncommon. In fact, whenever you have someone manage your business's website, server, or email - be that person a friend or a hired service - you're probably giving them more access than you realize.

It's often the right, and even necessary, thing to do.

Your sysadmin just might not tell you how much power he or she really has.

Continue reading 7 Things Your Sysadmin Probably Won't Tell You
Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
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How do I repair Microsoft Office?

2012-02-01T08:00:00-08:00

When I want to open a file in Excel a dialog box appears: "PROGRAMME ERROR: EXCEL.EXE has generated errors and will be closed by Windows. You will need to restart the program."

How do I fix this?

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This can happen for a number of reasons. In fact, it can happen to any of the Microsoft Office programs, including Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Outlook, and others.

Fortunately, the Microsoft Office actually has an option to help deal with situations like this.

You can repair Microsoft Office.

Continue reading How do I repair Microsoft Office?
Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
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Why can't my Windows 7 machines 'see' each other on my network?

2012-02-01T08:00:00-08:00

I just replaced my router and now all of a sudden my machines can't see each other. They were working fine before the replacement and I could regularly access files and make remote desktop connections between the machines. They all see the internet just fine, just not each other. What gives?

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That was actually me a few days ago.

I replaced my router to address a network performance issue and all of a sudden, my machines couldn't see each other.

My opinion of Windows networking for the average consumer isn't very high, so when I discovered what was happening, how easy it is to miss, and how easy it is to fix, I realized that it was time to write up my discoveries.

Continue reading Why can't my Windows 7 machines 'see' each other on my network?
Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
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