Ask Leo! #331 – Bypassing UAC, deleting cookies on schedule, getting files back from an upload site and more…

The Ask Leo! Newsletter

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Can I create a shortcut to a program needing administrative access that bypasses UAC?

I have a program (songbird.exe) that writes some information to an area of Windows 7 that requires administrative rights. As such, every time I run it, I am pestered by UAC. I understand that there is a workaround to this by creating an entry in the Windows 7 Task Scheduler, setting it to run as Administrator, then creating a shortcut which will execute that task entry. Songbird is a trusted program - I have absolutely no concerns that it is doing naughty things. Knowing that I can do a workaround and knowing HOW to do it are two different things. Any help would be appreciated.

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I've experienced the same thing with Winamp, another music playing program, in the past.

It can definitely be annoying.

While I'd personally want Winamp, Songbird, or whatever to stop doing things that require administrative access (playing music shouldn't require administrator - it just shouldn't), the fact is that the workaround might well be a more expeditious solution when this situation arises.

And you're very correct - the workaround uses the Task Scheduler in an interesting way.

Continue reading: Can I create a shortcut to a program needing administrative access that bypasses UAC?
http://ask-leo.com/C5086

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How do I delete cookies automatically?

My homepage is set to yahoo.com. I know in using yahoo one has to accept hundreds of cookies and I get hundreds. Is there any way one can program the computer to automatically remove the cookies?

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Yes and no.

Yes, we can absolutely set something up that will automatically remove cookies, say every night. I'll show you how to do that.

No, in that it's not a simple function built into the system.

There is a simple function built into many browsers, but it perhaps does more than you want.

Continue reading: How do I delete cookies automatically?
http://ask-leo.com/C5085

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How do I get my files back from a closed upload site?

I do not use file sharing and had never heard of "MegaUpload." I don't have any files on that site, but I had a thought: how do the innocent people get their files back if their only copy was on that site?

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They may not.

There are a lot of lessons to be learned, as well as a fair amount of controversy to be gleaned, from the closure of the file sharing site MegaUpload.com.

One of the most important lessons is something that I've been preaching for years.

Continue reading: How do I get my files back from a closed upload site?
http://ask-leo.com/C5084

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*** Comments

What version of Internet Explorer should I be running?

Duane Ferguson writes:

I've never encountered any catastrophic browser related failure. Sure, there have been problems here and there, the odd web site that loads better in Firefox for one reason or another, but nothng disasterous. I run IE 9, but have Firefox and Chrome installed as backups. I've never understood extreme adverse reactions to browsers. I've often told clients that browsers are like cars. Some have a preference for Ford, some prefer Holden, others don't care, as long as they get from point A to point B.

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What version of Internet Explorer should I be running?

Glenn P. writes:

In my opinion, "two or three months" is MUCH too short a time to wait for the bugs to work out of a new browser version. You need to wait six months, at the least. But after that time, things should hopefully settle out.

After hearing all sorts of horror stories and reading all manner of problem-solving articles about MSIE8, I finally upgraded our browser from MSIE6 -- first intermediately to v7, and then to v8 -- all in one afternoon. Because I had waited about eight months, the process went surprisingly smoothly for both  upgrades, and we now have the latest browser, which works quite well with virtually no difficulty at all. There was one  strange glitch at the very beginning, in which my Mom, on her computer account (but not on mine) had a stubbornly recurring browser startup configuration screen; this traced itself to an odd Registry key permission problem which went away once corrected. We've been happy campers with MSIE8 ever since.     :)

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How do I move my Outlook Express email from Windows XP to Windows 7?

tiffany in winter park, fl writes:

Leo, I read your article and feel encouraged however I am concerned there might be system requirements in order to update windows since my computer is so old. I have a desktop with XP for home and outlook 2003. I have no idea what version of explorer we are running. We are trying to put off replacing this dinosaur until after August (bonus check time, yeah!) After reading the above and not being too techie myself I worry that since our computer was built in 2003 that it might not be able to "handle" windows 7. And to clarify, does upgrading to windows 7 upgrade my explorer version? I have no idea what version I have but I do know that various sites we visit recommend updating our browser. We've just been scared to make a leap for fear of crashing this old dinosaur. Is there anything we should first check before switching to windows 7 and transferring our outlook? Thanks so much!

You can check the Microsoft site for Windows 7 System Requirements to see if your machine can do it. Do note that the article you just commented on is about Outlook Express, not Outlook - they are two different things. (How do Outlook and Outlook Express relate?). And finally this is an article worth reading: What are the steps to upgrade Windows XP to Windows 7?

-Leo

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7 Things Your Sysadmin Probably Won't Tell You

Bill McCann writes:

Unfortunately, all of our worlds have become so complicated and technically oriented that we do little for ourselves outside of our world of expertise. Not only Sysadmins are involved here, but also our doctors, lawyers, cpa's, our priest, minister, rabbi or imum, our state and federal governments, our banker -- just about anybody we come in contact with on a professional basis has that power if they turn evil, and we have enough wealth to make it worth their while. As they say, "There's no such thing as a free lunch". The more people to whom we are forced to open our lives, the bigger the risk. Miserere nobis (Have mercy on us).

*** Thoughts and Comments

Next week I'll be in Savannah Georgia for a conference. In the area and interested in a meetup?

On Monday, February 27th at about 5:30 PM I'll be at Kevin Barry's Irish Pub, 117 W River St., possibly in a "back room", or looking at their website (http://kevinbarrys.com ), upstairs (I've never been there, but I'm told this might be quieter).

Look for me (though my hair's a tad longer than in the site photos), and look for this guy too: http://www.thisistrue.com as he and his wife will be joining me. Smile

We might even have a few more surprise guests with us.

Keep an eye on my Twitter feed and my Facebook fan page for any last minute updates should anything come up.

I hope to see you there!

'till next week...

Leo
Leo A. Notenboom
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