Leo's Answers
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Ask Leo!
Leo Notenboom
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*** Contents
*** This Week's New Articles on Ask Leo!
I've lost the password to my Windows Administrator account,
how do I get it back?
When I set up my machine I did set a password for the Administrator
account, and then I promptly forgot it, since I never use that account.
Now I need it. What can I do?
|
Do you have physical access to the machine?
Good.
You can reset any Windows password on that machine that you
like.
And if that doesn't scare you, I really need to drive home a
point.
Continue reading:
"I've lost the password to my Windows Administrator account, how do I
get it back?"
http://ask-leo.com/ive_lost_the_password_to_my_windows_administrator_account_how_do_i_get_it_back.html
* * *
The Plight of the Average User
Over the course of the last four years of doing Ask Leo! I've also learned a lot about
computer and technology myself. The old adage about learning something
by teaching it is very, very true.
But I've also learned a thing or two about you, the people trying to
use computers, too.
And these are things I wish a lot more people would realize and
understand. People from the executives at my former employer, to some
of the people that comment on my answers.
The "average computer user" is not who you think.
Continue reading: "The Plight of
the Average User"
http://ask-leo.com/the_plight_of_the_average_user.html
* * *
How do I post a long link in email?
I tried to email a web page link to a group of my friends, but none
of them could click on it and have it work ... it always said "page not
found" or something like that. And yet the link works for me.
The link is a little lengthy, so I certainly can't expect them to
type it all in. Why can't they just click to open that link, and what
can I do to make it work for them?
|
The link broke.
No, seriously, the link was literally broken - either by
your email program, or the recipients.
Here's what I mean:
Continue reading: "How do I
post a long link in email?"
http://ask-leo.com/how_do_i_post_a_long_link_in_email.html
* * *
Can my company read the email I send via Hotmail on my work
computer?
If I send an email on my work computer through Hotmail, will it be
picked up on the server that has been set up in the office to hold all
emails sent through on our "actual office computer emails' via a paying
service provider?
In other words can the email I've sent be read afterwards on the
office server or at the office's service provider if it has been sent
through Hotmail?
|
The specific answer to the specific question you're asking is:
No.
But that doesn't mean your email couldn't be read by your company in
other ways.
In which case the answer the question you're really asking
is: yes, they might be able to read the mail you sent.
Continue reading:
"Can my company read the email I send via Hotmail on my work
computer?"
http://ask-leo.com/can_my_company_read_the_email_i_send_via_hotmail_on_my_work_computer.html
* * *
How do I get Windows XP SP3 on CD?
I'm on dialup and downloading Windows XP SP3 will take hours, if it
even manages to complete without dropping the connection. I was able to
get a CD for SP2, but I can't see that option for SP3. What can I
do?
|
Wait.
As I write this, while there are reports that XP SP3 is starting to
appear in Windows Automatic Updates, the Microsoft web site has almost
no information on it.
Here's what I expect will happen, and what I think you should wait
for, with updated links now available:
Continue reading: "How do I
get Windows XP SP3 on CD?"
http://ask-leo.com/how_do_i_get_windows_xp_sp3_on_cd.html
* * *
Who should I believe?
I was researching a question on the internet, and I find it very
strange that what one expert recommends another advises against. I
refer to various posts on discussion forums and advice sites such as
yours, all of which are most helpful not often contradictory. One finds
those who swear by a product and others who don't reckon much to it.
That leaves novices like me rather bewildered to who to heed and who
not.
Who do I believe?
|
I understand the frustration. When all you're looking for is an
answer, it's puzzling to come up with various differing opinions.
I'll try to explain why I think that is, and what I do when faced
with it myself.
Continue reading: "Who should I
believe?"
http://ask-leo.com/who_should_i_believe.html
* * *
How do I fix bad sectors on a flash drive?
I have a flash drive and I found that some files on it were
corrupted. When I recopied them from a backup, these files were
corrupted again, sometimes immediately, but sometimes only after a few
days or weeks.
Some folks have suggested I simply "buy a new one". But I think that
this might be more or less the nature of flash memory, similar to dead
pixels on an LCD display. So I'm thinking that a better way might be to
mark bad clusters and keep using the drive.
I tried "chkdsk /R" and the result is "Windows has checked the file
system and found no problems". Then I tried the old Windows 98
scandisk, and tried Write/Read test. I know that I shortened the flash
memory's life by doing this? Again no error was detected.
I filled the disk with files exactly 32768 bytes long - the size of
a FAT cluster on this drive - with random data content. I then checked
the CRC for these files. I also overwrite these files with inverted
data a few times and checked the CRC again. I found a few files where
this failed from time to time, so I changed the attributes of these
files to read-only and hidden. As long as no mechanism moves these
files, this then prevents those bad clusters from being used again.
Is this a reasonable approach?
|
Let me put it this way: "buy a new one".
Your approach might be reasonable, sort of, but I don't agree with
some of the assumptions you've made that lead you down this path.
And I can pretty much guarantee that it simply won't work on many
newer flash drives.
Continue reading: "How
do I fix bad sectors on a flash drive?"
http://ask-leo.com/how_do_i_fix_bad_sectors_on_a_flash_drive.html
* * *
What does it mean when you recommend something?
I frequently get asked "what ___ do you recommend", and I often
don't have an answer. It's not because I don't have some ideas, I
almost always do. It's just that the word "recommend" carries an
implied endorsement, and I don't take that lightly.
So what does it mean when I actually take the plunge and say I
recommend something?
Continue reading:
"What does it mean when you recommend something?"
http://ask-leo.com/what_does_it_mean_when_you_recommend_something.html
* * *
How do I protect users on my network from each
other?
In reference to your article "
Is the WiFi connection provided by my landlord safe, and if not, how
should I protect myself?", while I am not *that* landlord, I am *a*
landlord. I don't know how to look at my tenant's data, but how do I
protect myself from my tenant and for that matter someone in another
apartment or someone just driving by the apartment building? According
to my tenant, there are 8 different networks registering on his laptop
(including mine). Because my tenant shares the cost of the connection
with me, I feel I have to protect the both of us from "problems."
I have wireless broadband router I am wired directly to the router
and my tenant uses the wireless connection. The router itself has a
password on it and you need to enter an encryption key to gain access
to the network to which my router is attached.
|
There are a few issues here, some of which are common and have
standard solutions, which it sounds like you've already
implemented.
However protecting you from your tenant, your tenant from you, and
for that matter all your tenants from each other gets ... well, things
get interesting.
Continue reading:
"How do I protect users on my network from each other?"
http://ask-leo.com/how_do_i_protect_users_on_my_network_from_each_other.html
* * *
How do spammers send email that looks like it comes from
me?
OK, I know that spammers can send email spoofing the "From:" address
to make it look like it came from me. But how? How do they gain access
to my account to do that?
|
First let me be very clear: they don't have to have access to your
account. In fact, 99.99% of the time they don't. 99.99% of the time it
has nothing at all to do with your account, and your account
is quite safe.
They only need your email address.
And this is the concept that's fairly difficult for most folks to
grasp: while your email account and your email
address are related, they are not necessarily the same
thing.
Continue reading:
"How do spammers send email that looks like it comes from
me?"
http://ask-leo.com/how_do_spammers_send_email_that_looks_like_it_comes_from_me.html
* * *
Some Other Podcasts
As I discontinue my weekly podcast, a few recommendations on other
podcasts that I listen to.
Continue reading: "Some Other Podcasts"
http://ask-leo.com/some_other_podcasts.html
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*** Featured Comments
A sampling of some of the comments that have been posted recently on
Ask Leo!
* * *
Is the WiFi connection provided by my landlord safe, and if not, how
should I protect myself?
Eric Goodman writes:
I am the "landlord" (NOT the one in the article above). I don't know
how to look at my "tenant's" data, but how do I protect myself from my
tenant and for that matter someone in another apartment or someone just
driving by the apartment building? According to my tenant, there are 8
different networks registering on his laptop (including mine).
Because my tenant shares the cost of the connection with me, I feel
I have to protect the both of us from "problems."
I have a Linksys Wireless-G 2.4 MHz Broadband Router. I am wired
directly to the router and my tenant uses the wireless connection. The
router itself has a password on it and you need to enter an encryption
key to gain access to the network to which my router is attached.
Excellent question, and good on you for wanting to do things right.
Here's a new article that describes what I'd do:
http://ask-leo.com/how_do_i_protect_users_on_my_network_from_each_other.html
Thanks,
Leo
*
How can
I make my computer run faster?.
Ulises writes:
What really helps your pc work faster is installing the whole
operating system. That may sound rude, but I have noticed that after 6
month of using my pc It gets slow and I have to format it and there we
go again. It really works, try it.
Ulises: Yes, in fact that's so common there's a term for it:
"software rot". 6 months seems a little extreme, but ultimately it
depends on how you use your machine and how often you install or
uninstall software. If you do it a lot then sometimes the best thing is
to reformat and reinstall.
I find I do it about every year or two on my primary machines.
Thanks,
Leo
*
How do I protect users on my network from each other?
John writes:
I really disagree with you on this one Leo. Buying an additional
router for each connected computer is an extremely expensive solution
when good firewall software will suffice and do exactly the same thing.
Routers provide an incoming firewall by the intrinsic nature of using
NAT (as you've pointed out in other articles), but you don't need to
buy a router if all you need is a firewall--that can be accomplished
with good firewall software, and some decent firewall programs are
available even for free. Of course it could be argued that a
hardware-based firewall could be considered more bullet-proof than
software-based firewalls since they are virtually impervious to
malware, but if you have good firewall software that hasn't been
compromised by malware that all ready exists your computer, then a
software-based fireall is JUST AS GOOD as being behind a router for all
practical purposes.
How can you make your readers believe they need a router for every
single computer on their LAN, in addition to their router that connects
them to the internet? That is an extremely expensive solution that is
unnecessary. Would you mind explaining why you think spending all that
money on additional routers is justified over using good firewall
software? I think protecting yourself with decent firewall software is
adequate for 99.9% of the average computer users out there. I think you
are way out-of-line on your advice this time, Leo.
As Jeffrey pointed out, I'm not suggesting this for a home scenario,
or for any scenario where you have control over all the computers. This
is specifically for distribution of an internet connection to
users/computers/whomever over which you have little or no control.
In *some cases* it might be appropriate for the home: particularly
if you have children or house guests whose usage you cannot trust.
But if you can trust all the computers behind your single router,
then absolutely a single router is the way to go. It's how I run
here.
But I'm no landlord :-).
Thanks,
Leo
*
I accidentally deleted my Recycle Bin in Vista - how do I get it
back?
Brett writes:
oh my gosh thank you! i was just being careless and hit delete
instead of empty and it was gone! i freaked out and was like oh my gosh
what am i gonna do now? if i delete something where will it go? so of
course i followed my instincts and googled it and found this site. it
was really helpful and really eay, and i doubt i would have ever found
it if it werent for this site!
*** This Week's Most Popular
The ten most popular articles in the last 7 days on Ask Leo!
-
Svchost and Svchost.exe - Crashs, CPU maximization, viruses, exploits
and more.
-
How do I put a picture in a comment on myspace.com?
-
How do I delete history items from my Google tool bar?
- How
do I make a new MSN Hotmail account?
-
How do I resolve my MSN Hotmail sign in problems?
-
Why is my Task Manager disabled, and how do I fix it?
-
What are MSN HotMail's POP3 and SMTP settings for Outlook
Express?
-
What are the POP3 and SMTP settings for Hotmail?
- How do I
hack into someone's account?
-
My desktop Recycle Bin has disappeared - why, and how do I get it
back?
*** Leo Recommends
"Web Search
Garage"
a book by Tara Calishain.
If there were one computer-related skill I would recommend that
everyone invest more in, it's simply the ability to use search engines
such as Google more effectively.
Think about how you use the web; I'll bet a lot of it is "looking
for stuff". Searching.
Now, anyone can throw terms at Google and press "Search". Web Search Garage takes you
beyond just throwing words on the virtual wall and seeing what sticks.
Web Search Garage
gives you real tools and techniques for actually getting the results
you're looking for. What to search for, how to narrow down results, how
to evaluate the results you get, and much, much more.
I'm pretty good at this stuff, and even so, I picked up a trick or
two from Web Search
Garage.
Read my full review: "Web Search Garage", or
just order it from
Amazon.com.
I recommend it.
•
Each week I recommend a specific product or resource that
I've found valuable and that I think you may as well.
What does my recommendation mean?
*** Popular Articles from the Archives
There's often a lot of information
hidden in your email that you don't normally see. This article from
three years ago lifts the veil a little ..
How can I trace where email came from?
I frequently get questions that boil down to How can I trace
where this email came from? or Can I determine the IP address
of the sender of an email?.
The answer is both yes and maybe, and it may not do you any good.
However there is a lot of interesting information in your email that
you normally don't see, and the trail of mail servers is part of
that.
So let's interpret some email headers.
Continue reading...
How can
I trace where email came from?
http://ask-leo.com/how_can_i_trace_where_email_came_from.html
*** Thoughts and Comments
This turns out to be a fairly long newsletter! I hope you don't
mind. Next week we should be back to our more traditional size. Since
the newsletter is now published on Tuesday mornings, this week week
we're actually covering a week and a half of new articles instead of
our normal one week's worth. And it was a busy week!
•
You might notice a new section above, Leo
Recommends. Along with all the normal technical questions, I get a
fairly steady stream of "What ____ do you recommend?". I decided not
only to collect my recommendations, but start featuring them here each
week. You'll see me recommend specific software packages, books, web
sites and things I probably haven't even thought of yet in the coming
weeks. Much will be driven by what you're asking for, but occasionally
I'll throw in some things that I think are worthwhile that you might
not have thought about. Today's recommendation, Web Search Garage, a book by
Tara Calishain, is a good example.
As always, if you're looking for a recommendation, let me know. I
don't take making a recommendation lightly, so I might not have one for
every case, but if I get a lot of requests for something specific, I'll
dig in and do some research for you.
(And slightly related: this weeks paid advertiser, IAC Professionals, also merits a
recommendation: they provide me with virtual assistant services
throughout the week as I manage Ask
Leo!.)
•
Speaking of busy weeks, I started getting questions about Windows XP
SP3 mid week, posted an
article, and updated it the very next day with newly available
download links for various forms of the service pack. Initial reports
are that for most people it's installing and working just fine, though
of course I have at least one report of disastrous failure. Sadly,
that's not terribly unexpected. It'll work for most people, I'm
certain, but there are always issues that crop up. That's the reason I
recommend both waiting a while, and performing a full backup prior to
installing SP3. So far I've installed it on one machine, the desktop
machine I use every day, and the installation was problem-free.
*
Thanks for subscribing, reading, and as always, for your feedback. I
hope the coming week is a good one for you!
As always, if you appreciate this newsletter or the site, one of the
best ways you can say "Thank You!" is to link to Ask Leo! or
simply to tell a friend or colleague. Just send folks to askleo.net.
'till next time...
* * *
Some of Leo's other sites: The Ask Leo! Store, Leo's Online Business Card, Forwarded
Funnies, Taming Email,
MovableType Tips, Leo's Blog, Buy Leo a Latte (or a Beer), A Letter To Myself, Dolls and Friends, Corgwn.com
*** Newsletter Administration
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Copyright © 2008, Leo A. Notenboom & Puget Sound Software,
LLC.
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Leo's Answers #127 - May 13, 2008
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Source: Leo's Answers #127 - May 13, 2008
