Leo's Answers #279 - April 19, 2011 - Confident Computing

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Leo Notenboom

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*** New Articles

How do I view full headers in Outlook 2010?

I'm on Outlook 2010. The example you show for Outlook doesn't look like mine. There isn't an "option" when I right-click on an email. Is it possible to see headers using Outlook 2010?

It is, but it took me a few minutes to find it myself.

Outlook 2010 (and probably Outlook 2007 before it) went through a fairly major interface redesign compared to Outlook 2003 and earlier versions.

There may be better ways, but here's how I found the message headers.

Continue reading: How do I view full headers in Outlook 2010?
http://ask-leo.com/C4796

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How can a message I send by using "Reply" bounce?

I have received emails from several people but when I try to respond, the message gets kicked back as 'permanent fatal errors' and 'reason 550: user unknown' as an incorrect email address. I am using the email address that the message was sent with, so how can it be incorrect? Is there anything I can do?

You get an email.

You reply to it.

You get a message back that your reply bounces ... how's that possible if you never even typed in an email address? You never had the opportunity to get it wrong - you just replied to the address it was sent from, right?

Not really.

There are two common scenarios that can cause this. But first we need to talk about that "From:" address.

Continue reading: How can a message I send by using "Reply" bounce?
http://ask-leo.com/C4795

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Can I trust https certificates in my browser?

In Internet Explorer, when I open or log-in to some websites, like PayPal, the Address Bar color changes to green with certificate information. If I click it, a digital certificate appears in a new dialog box. Can I trust each and every website that proves by showing a digital certificate in this manner? Are there any chances that I get fooled by such type of websites?

Of course there are no absolutes, but chances of getting fooled are actually pretty small - particularly when it comes to the so-called "green bar" site validation.

I'll review what those mean and what to look for to make sure that the site you visit is the site you think it is.

Continue reading: Can I trust https certificates in my browser?
http://ask-leo.com/C4794

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What is a VPN?

What is a VPN? How can i establish a VPN network? How can i get connected to it?

VPN stands for Virtual Private Network.

A VPN is network of computers connected to each other virtually - using some other network, like the internet, to carry the data. A VPN is private because even though the data might be carried over a public network like the Internet, only those machines who are allowed to connect to the VPN can see the other machines on the VPN.

Already that gets complicated. I'll try and diagram it out a little.

Continue reading: What is a VPN?
http://ask-leo.com/C4793

* * *

How do I fix "Error on page" when visiting a website? And what does "Error on page" mean?

On some websites, occasionally including my online bank sites, the IRS, etc. etc., I sometimes get the message "Error on page," and the links don't work. What causes this message to appear and is there anything I can do to avoid it? I assume the problem is with the site and not my computer, which makes me think I can't do much, but I thought I'd ask. It's very inconvenient. I use Windows 7 and Internet Explorer 8.

Taken quite literally, "Error on page" means exactly that: there's an error of some sort on the web page that is being displayed in your browser.

There are three common reasons that this message can appear.

Two you can try to do something about, the other you can't.

Continue reading: How do I fix "Error on page" when visiting a website? And what does "Error on page" mean?
http://ask-leo.com/C4792

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*** Last Week's Articles

*** Comments

How did a website install malware on my machine?

Joyce writes:

This type of malware infects all the computers in my home on a daily basis. Most of the time, I can get to the task manager and end the task immediately before the malware installs itself. Other times, I cannot. In fact, first my desktop was sent to be repaired because restore to previous date, starting in safe mode, etc. would not work and I couldn't get on the internet or run any of the 3 spyware/virus programs I have on my computer. Next, my laptop ended up the same way. I would like to find someone who can answer the question, "How do I stop this from happening?"

On a daily basis? Wow. I would notice which websites you visit that make this happen and then stop visiting them. Period.

-Leo

TrueCrypt - Free Open Source Industrial Strength Encryption

Yeppers writes:

In the context of this article, what does the word "mount" mean (ie., "...'mount' that file using TrueCrypt...")? I see that word used more and more lately in PC articles, but I am never quite sure as to what the authors are trying to say. Thanks...

It harkens back to the day when a disk was added to a computer by physically mounting it - attaching it to or placing it in a large disk drive enclosure. That concept lived on as a way to think of adding a drive. When you "mount" a TrueCrypt volume its contents then appears as another disk drive on your machine. For example on my machine C:somepathdata.tc, when mounted, appears as drive F:.

-Leo

How do I use an open WiFi hotspot safely?

Don Taber writes:

One comment about securing your POP3 and SMTP servers with SSL, etc. Apparently some antivirus programs object to doing that because SSL protected e-mail cannot be scanned by the AV program. I found this out after turning on SSL in Windows Live Mail and subsequently received an "advice" message from Avast! saying in effect "turn SSL off"!

I see enough problems with anti-malware tools trying to scan email as it arrives that I often recommend turning that "feature" off.

-Leo

How did a website install malware on my machine?

Joyce writes:

I have disinfected all computers, and it continues to happen, not just daily, but often several times a day. It's not just one site doing it. I can be researching something in google and it will happen before even going to the site to read the article. I have a repairman coming out next week with a new modem and router (both of which date back to our first getting DSL). I am hoping he can resolve the problems.

I'll simply as this: how do you KNOW that a computer has been truly disinfected? Answer: unless you reformatted and reinstalled Windows and all applications from scratch, you do not. Once infected there are no guarantees that tools of any sort can completely clean the machine.

-Leo

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It's easy to get wrapped up around pricing when looking to register a domain. SimpleURL's prices are quite inexpensive, but certainly not the absolute lowest that you'll find around. You might be able to save a buck or two by going elsewhere.

SimpleURL - Inexpensive Domain Registration ... with Service
http://ask-leo.com/C3926

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

Registry cleaners come up in many questions I get.

Why do different registry cleaners give different results?

Let's say you download the so-called top two registry cleaners. You perform a scan with the first, and allow it to clean the errors.

Now you use the "other" cleaner, run a scan and it shows hundreds of errors.

Back to the first, scan again and it still shows zero errors.

I'm beginning to think these cleaners are all made up and only show errors until you purchase the product. Once you do so they then show that they "did their job" and that your computer is in great shape after the scan.

What's your take?

•

I have mixed feelings about registry cleaners in general, and one reason is that there are indeed less-than-reputable companies who are indeed doing things much like you suspect, and worse.

However there are several very legitimate products, and guess what? You'll get different results between them as well.

The reason may surprise you.

Continue reading...
Why do different registry cleaners give different results?
http://ask-leo.com/C3351

*** Thoughts and Comments

One of the reasons that Ask Leo! exists is because in 2002 I was invited to join a mastermind group of internet entrepreneurs. The timing was perfect, as I'd just left Microsoft and was in that "what do I do now?" phase of life. (It's this same mastermind group whose conference I attended two weeks ago.)

I can't say enough about having a group of peers to work with and bounce ideas off of. In fact, it's a common thread in much business success literature.

If you've ever considered starting your own mastermind group, or are just curious as to what it's all about, head over to Mastermind Source, a site run by Randy Cassingham of This Is True notoriety. The site has a lot of information as well as a free home study course. There's also a "Mastermind Insiders" mastermind group for mastermind leaders and potential leaders. I believe he'll be opening up that exclusive group for applications for just a couple of days very soon.

Ask Leo! wouldn't be here were it not for my having joined a mastermind group.

•

Speaking of my Austin trip - it was great, but of course it left me with a huge backlog of questions when I got back. I try to answer what I can when I'm traveling, but it's just not practical to stay on top of it all. As a result a few hundred questions and comments were waiting for me when I returned. (I just caught up over a week later, this last Saturday.)

The good news for you as newsletter subscribers is that I tackle them in this order:

Questions from the newsletter "subscribers only" question form (mentioned only in the emailed newsletter, below)
Comments made to articles on the site
Questions asked through the normal "ask a question form".

Newsletter subscribers really do get preferential treatment. Smile

It doesn't mean I can answer every question - still too many for that - but I do prioritize yours first, and try to respond if I have anything to offer.

•

Just a reminder - I Facebook (if that's a verb) and I tweet.

Follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/askleo
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New article notifications go out shortly after articles are released throughout the week. I also post items that I think are timely and of particular interest to you.

'till next week...

Leo
Leo A. Notenboom

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