Leo's Answers
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Leo Notenboom
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*** Contents
*** This Week's New Articles on Ask Leo!
How does Windows delete files, and what can I do to keep my
files secure?
Is it reasonable to assume that recovering overwritten information
is expensive?
How does Windows deal with a normal File Save?
Are there snags to password protecting a file?
|
The original question is much more detailed, but I want to take it
and talk about what's reasonable to expect, or not expect, when
deleting files and keeping your data secure on your hard disk.
Continue reading:
"How does Windows delete files, and what can I do to keep my files
secure?"
http://ask-leo.com/how_does_windows_delete_files_and_what_can_i_do_to_keep_my_files_secure.html
* * *
What are the $NtUnstallKB* folders in my Windows folder, and
can I delete them?.
In my Windows folder I have 294 folders named $NtUnstallKB******$.
Each folder has 4 to 6 files. The names of the folders and files are
all blue. There is a txt file in each folder but when I open it with
notepad it is blank.
What are these and can I safely delete them? They are taking up 1.2
Gb of disk space. My guess is they are to uninstall windows updates, to
delete them would mean I could not remove the update.
|
Your guess is exactly right.
Let's look at what you're looking at, and I'll describe the safe
approach to dealing with this.
Continue reading:
"What are the $NtUnstallKB* folders in my Windows folder, and can I
delete them?."
http://ask-leo.com/what_are_the_ntunstallkb_folders_in_my_windows_folder_and_can_i_delete_them.html
* * *
What's the difference between a Mac Address and an IP
Address?
What is the difference between a Mac Address and an IP Address? Are
both traceable back to your computer? And can you hide them? If by
hiding them is your computer safer from hackers. Also, are the free
versions as good as the ones you buy?
|
Well, the last one is easy to answer: there's no concept of free
versus paid IP or MAC addresses. As you'll see in a moment, IP
addresses are assigned as part of connecting to a network, and MAC
addresses are assigned at the time hardware is manufactured.
Even hiding a MAC or IP address is a concept that doesn't quite
apply, but we'll get in to that too.
And whether MAC or IP addresses are hidden or not, if you connect to
a network these are not the kind of things you should be spending your
time worrying about to stay safe from hackers.
Continue reading:
"What's the difference between a Mac Address and an IP
Address?"
http://ask-leo.com/whats_the_difference_between_a_mac_address_and_an_ip_address.html
* * *
Why does my internet connection slow down
sometimes?
Intermittently, my internet connection becomes really slow. The
download speed seems to be OK (650 -700 kbps) but I periodically show a
latency period as high as >3600 ms. My ISP says that is normal but I
don't think they know what they are talking about.
|
I used to be with your ISP (the original question called out the ISP
by name), and, well ... let's just say I'm no longer with them.
There are several reasons that internet speeds can vary, but in
general I wouldn't expect latency (the time it takes for a response to
arrive) of over 3.5 seconds.
Continue reading:
"Why does my internet connection slow down sometimes?"
http://ask-leo.com/why_does_my_internet_connection_slow_down_sometimes.html
* * *
Why is my screen saver asking for a password, and how do I
fix that?
I've been using a screen saver for years. I used to be able to just
move my mouse and get back to my desktop. However, now when I move my
mouse, it takes me back to the 'Welcome Screen' and I have to enter my
password again. How do I undo that?
|
I can't say why it happened, but it's easy to fix.
But we'll want to make sure you really want to fix it, first.
Continue reading:
"Why is my screen saver asking for a password, and how do I fix
that?"
http://ask-leo.com/why_is_my_screen_saver_asking_for_a_password_and_how_do_i_fix_that.html
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*** Featured Comments
A sampling of some of the comments that have been posted recently on
Ask Leo!
* * *
This comment was actually submitted via the question form, but I
thought it warranted publication:
Margaret writes:
You cannot stress watching your kids around the computer often
enough. My neighbor does not even know [how] to turn it on, but let the
kids use the computer. She came to me asking what was wrong. Well
everything! I had downloaded AVG free and told them to use it
regularly. No they did not. The screen was white with a few icons,
Virus Alert was jumping all over the place, and they could not get to
their homepage. I ran the AVG and it picked up 5 trojans immediately. I
took off some useless advertising toolbars. I went home to my computer
and googled everything that was showing, it was a smitfraud. I
downloaded an antispyware program, and ran it. It took me 3 days, I am
not a computer expert. I got her homepage back. But the computer still
is not right. I suspect the OS needs to be reinstalled. It is a Windows
2000 Pro. I have learned a lot. It was worth every penny I spent on my
Antivirus and spyware programs. Since the only thing they use the
computer for is to do email, and they don't store files or do banking,
they are okay. I drilled the kids if it starts acting strange, and
tries to download anything, close down the internet and run the AVG
immediately. They don't have the money for an expert to look at it.
When the kids are on the computer be sure and supervise, and after they
get off run the spyware program.
Your points are well taken, simply because your story is all too
familiar. Parents need to watch and educate their kids on proper
internet usage. Quite often that means that the parents need educating
as well! But it's key, not just for keeping things like viruses off of
your machine, but for keeping your kids safe from some of other dangers
that lie out there in cyberspace.
Thanks,
Leo
*** This Week's Most Popular
The ten most popular articles in the last 7 days on Ask Leo!
- How
do I make a new MSN Hotmail account?
-
How do I delete history items from my Google tool bar?
-
How do I put a picture in a comment on myspace.com?
-
How do I put a picture into the caption of a picture on
myspace.com?
-
What are MSN HotMail's POP3 and SMTP settings for Outlook
Express?
-
What are the POP3 and SMTP settings for Hotmail?
-
My desktop Recycle Bin has disappeared - why, and how do I get it
back?
- How
do I change my MSN Hotmail password?
- How do I
hack into someone's account?
- How do I
delete my Hotmail account?
*** Leo Recommends
SnagIt
Quick and Easy Screen Capture and Annotation
One of the more surprising questions I get fairly often has nothing
at all to do with computer problems, Windows configuration or general
computing. It's very simple:
"How'd you get that cool tear-off look to your screen captures?"
I use SnagIt.
By the way, this is what they're talking about:
As with any utility like this, I'm certain that there are many
alternatives, but I've been using SnagIt for several years now and have
been exceptionally pleased with how quick and easy it is to use.
But I had to be convinced.
Continue reading:
"SnagIt - Quick and Easy Screen Capture and Annotation"
http://ask-leo.com/snagit_quick_and_easy_screen_capture_and_annotation.html
•
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
One of the things my virtual assistant
does is regularly remove email addresses from the bodies of comments
posted on Ask Leo!. Why? This article explains why you
never want to put your naked email address anywhere
publicly on the web.
Why shouldn't I post my email address in a public
forum?
|
So many
discussion forums and technical assistance sites, including yours, ask
for an email address to post comments, and yet friends tell me never to
put my real address in. Sometimes I need to include my email address as
part of my comment or question, but I'm told that's even worse! Why is
that, and what should I do?
|
The why is easy.
The what to do? Not so much.
Why is it a bad idea? In a word, spam.
Continue reading...
Why shouldn't I post my email address in a public forum?
http://ask-leo.com/why_shouldnt_i_post_my_email_address_in_a_public_forum.html
*** Thoughts and Comments
The folks from 123 Inkjets got back to me just a hair too late for
last week's issue, but the ad above has updated codes that should last
through the end of the year this time. 
*
Randy Pausch passed away last week. Like many I was deeply moved by
the Carnegie Mellon professor's "Last Lecture". It's a deeply
insightful presentation in the face of terminal cancer, and is in my
opinion a must-see.
Another summary as well as the video of the Last Lecture itself can
be found here: Randy Pausch.
*
Follow me on
twitter? Then you'll know I've been grousing about food of late
. A recent
tweet: "Age old secret to weight loss revealed! Eat less. Move more.
(Just sucks when in my heart of hearts I yearn for just the
opposite.)"
All grousing aside, I did have to punch new holes in my belt
yesterday. Whoo hoo!
*
As always, thanks for subscribing, for reading, and for your
feedback. 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...
* * *
A selection of Leo's articles are available for free re-use at
http://articlesbyleo.com.
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 #138 - July 29, 2008
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Source: Leo's Answers #138 - July 29, 2008
