Ask Leo! #408 - Finding a web host, email security, large PSTs, add/remove programs and more... - Confident Computing

The Ask Leo! Newsletter

*** Featured

How can I find a good web host?

You're looking for a place to put your website. Maybe it's just a single page describing what your business is. Maybe it's a blog. Maybe you've got the next best solution to ecommerce that you're ready to build out.

There are so many web hosts and hosting alternatives that it's almost impossible to tell one from the other, much less understand if they'll be what you need.

There are a number of different types of web hosting and I'll look at a few of them along with some specific recommendations. Each will have their pros and cons, and each will be suitable for different types of solutions.

Continue reading: How can I find a good web host?
http://ask-leo.com/C1885

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*** Answercast

Answercast #71 - What about Macs, slow Outlook, former employees, blinking yellow icons, print crashes and more...

Ever wonder why taskbar items sometimes blink yellow or why some items don't show in the uninstall list? Do you crash when printing or need to remove a former employee's email? Want to know how much of Ask Leo! is applicable to Macs? All that and more in today's Answercast.

Continue reading: Answercast #71 - What about Macs, slow Outlook, former employees, blinking yellow icons, print crashes and more...
http://ask-leo.com/C6039

Why does Internet Explorer crash when I try to print?
Internet Explorer crashing while printing can be caused by so many different things. We'll start by looking at add-ons.
Continue reading: Why does Internet Explorer crash when I try to print?
http://ask-leo.com/C6040

How do I get video files I burn to CD to play in a specified order?
Setting an order for videos to play on a CD can be done easily. I'll look at several things you may want to do when converting old videos.
Continue reading: How do I get video files I burn to CD to play in a specified order?
http://ask-leo.com/C6041

Why would a taskbar item turn yellow when its application is minimized?
The taskbar icon changing color means that it is trying to tell you something. If not, it shouldn't have changed color.
Continue reading: Why would a taskbar item turn yellow when its application is minimized?
http://ask-leo.com/C6042

How can I protect my security when corresponding by email?
Email security can be enhanced by setting up an anonymous email account, but that is still not completely totally secure.
Continue reading: How can I protect my security when corresponding by email?
http://ask-leo.com/C6043

I suspect the large number of emails and folders in my PST is causing problems with Outlook. How can I fix this?
Outlook can become unstable if the PST file is too large. There are several ways to save and archive old emails and folders.
Continue reading: I suspect the large number of emails and folders in my PST is causing problems with Outlook. How can I fix this?
http://ask-leo.com/C6044

How do I prevent a former employee sending email that looks like it's from my company's domain?
Stopping someone from sending from your domain name can only be done if they are using your server to send. Otherwise, they may be spoofing.
Continue reading: How do I prevent a former employee sending email that looks like it's from my company's domain?
http://ask-leo.com/C6045

Why do some programs show up on the Add/Remove Programs list and not others?
Add/Remove programs is a database entry that should be completed when a program is installed on your computer. If not, you need another way to uninstall.
Continue reading: Why do some programs show up on the Add/Remove Programs list and not others?
http://ask-leo.com/C6046

How much of what you cover is applicable to Macs?
Ask Leo! has a lot of questions that are applicable to Macs as well as PCs. My strength is in PCs, however, and that's the majority of the questions that I answer.
Continue reading: How much of what you cover is applicable to Macs?
http://ask-leo.com/C6047

What should I do about saving my hardware drivers as so many instructions seem to recommend?
Device drivers should be saved if they are not in the original Windows setup. That way you can replace them easily if you need to.
Continue reading: What should I do about saving my hardware drivers as so many instructions seem to recommend?
http://ask-leo.com/C6048

Why is Outlook so slow to receive email?
Slow Outlook downloads could indicate problems in writing to the disk. I walk through a series of steps to clean things up.
Continue reading: Why is Outlook so slow to receive email?
http://ask-leo.com/C6049

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*** Last Issue's Articles

*** Word o' the Week

Virtual Machine

A virtual machine is an "entire PC in a window". When you start a virtual PC, for example, the first thing that you see is a window open up in Windows that contains a virtual BIOS screen as it starts up and tries to boot.

The benefit of a virtual machine is that it can't directly modify the "real" Windows running on your machine. The virtual machine is assigned its own hard disk space and any modifications that you make are stored on that virtual hard disk.

You can run a browser in a copy of an operating system running in a virtual machine and any settings that it changes, any history that it creates, and any malware that it downloads affect only the virtual machine. If you keep a snapshot of an original virtual machine hard disk image, then any time that you find you want to discard all of the settings, history, and perhaps malware, all that you need do is erase the current image and copy over the original to start again, clean.

While the setting changes that you make are kept from run to run, if you do decide to start over, that does mean that they're all lost. And if you want those changes to take effect in your "real" Windows installation, you're still faced with running the browser in the real Windows, not the virtual machine.

Word o' the Week features a computer term or acronym taken from the Ask Leo! Glossary. If there's a word you're not sure of and would like to see defined, click here to let me know.

*** Thoughts and Comments

Blatant plug for a friend's book:

I'm currently reading Terrible Nerd by my friend Kevin Savetz.

Kevin's the guy behind sites like Fax Zero, which lets you send Faxes for free, and Free Printables, which has thousands and thousands of forms, documents, graphics and other things that you can download and print for free.

Terrible Nerd Kevin's auto-biography - or rather, those parts of his autobiography that more-or-less relate specifically to "growing up geek", as he puts it. From his first computing experience to software to BBS's to becoming a writer and more, I'm finding it a very enjoyable read.

Mostly, I guess, because even though Kevin's a tad (ok, over a decade) younger than I am, I see myself in a lot of his experiences.

I think you'll identify with Kevin as well.

Anyway, give Terrible Nerd a look-see. I think you'll enjoy it.

•

For those in the U.S. a very Happy Thanksgiving this week.

And regardless of where you are, I'm very thankful you're here.

'till next time...

Leo
Leo A. Notenboom
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