Ask Leo! #497 - Partition Juggling, Right to be Forgotten, Testing Backups, Dynamic Disks and more... - Confident Computing

*** Featured

Can I make my C: partition bigger by taking space from D:?

I have a laptop that somebody partitioned so that the small section is C: and the large (and mostly empty) section is D:. No matter how I try to get programs loaded into D: instead, everything goes to C: and therefore C: is full, while most of the hard drive, namely D:, is empty. Is there any way other than starting fresh that I can change to size of C? I tried renaming C: to D: and vice versa, but of course that didn't work.

Yes, I wouldn't expect that rename to work. There are simply too many places, such as within the system registry, that have recorded the fact that things are on "C:". If you rename C: to D:, the system wouldn't be able to find them.

What you're looking for is partitioning software.

And there's a good chance you already have what you need.

Continue Reading: Can I make my C: partition bigger by taking space from D:?
http://askleo.com/?p=2839

*** Answercast

Answercast #158 - Testing backups, secure sites, dynamic disks, dead anti-virus and more...

Are your backups asking you for dynamic disk options, or do you need to test them? Wondering about secure websites and anti-virus safety. Need to know more about how hackers work?

Listen Now!
(Includes the raw transcript on which the articles below were based.)

What's a dynamic disk?
Chances are that you have a basic disk, and don't need the functionality offered by dynamic disk support. Even if that functionality actually is kind of cool.

Continue reading: What's a dynamic disk?
http://askleo.com?p=14532

Is anti-virus dead?
Anti-malware tools have never been 100% solutions - but, despite what we hear on the news, they are far from dead!

Continue reading: Is anti-virus dead?
http://askleo.com?p=14536

I see lots of failed attempts to login to my account, should I do anything?
One thing that everyone needs to realize is that our accounts are pretty much under constant attack. We certainly need to act like they are.

Continue reading: I see lots of failed attempts to login to my account, should I do anything?
http://askleo.com?p=14543

How can a hacker try all possible passwords if systems block the login attempts?
Some hackers just go for the low-hanging fruit and try the most common passwords, and there is one scenario where brute force works very well.

Continue reading: How can a hacker try all possible passwords if systems block the login attempts?
http://askleo.com?p=14547

What makes a site secure?
A secure website means the site owner has jumped through the technical hoops necessary to qualify for https. Safety is another thing all together.

Continue reading: What makes a site secure?
http://askleo.com?p=14553

How do I test my backups?
It's a good idea to test your backup image before disaster strikes. Let's look at the steps.

Continue reading: How do I test my backups?
http://askleo.com?p=14556

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*** Last Issue's Articles

*** Featured Reader Comments

How to tell if your email, computer, or Facebook has been hacked

Anetta writes:

Hi. We have a confirmation that our email has been hacked. The info in those emails was shared through another person's email account. Is there a way we can show that we were hacked and who actually did the hacking? This relates to a big lawsuit, and the opposing side is using hacking tactics to obtain intel.

Many thanks.

Connie Delaney writes:

Perhaps law enforcement, like the FBI, could trace that sort of thing down. But you or I couldn't do it, and the real world isn't like television cop shows. Meanwhile, read this article by Leo and make sure your account (all your accounts actually) are secure:

http://askleo.com/email_hacked_7_things_you_need_to_do_now/

Why do I need another email address to access my account?

Tony2 writes:

Be careful about using your work email address as recovery for your personal accounts. When I changed jobs I had to do a fairly thorough review of places where I had done that, and make the changes before I finally lost assess to that account.

Phone numbers can also be used for recovery but then you need to update the info if you ever change your phone.

How do I prevent Hotmail from locking me out when I travel overseas?

Ian writes:

Just adding my voice to the despair. Going round England visiting friends, some of whom have come over from Australia to meet me. All correspondence, itinerary, changes of plan via hotmail: the planning has been gong on for months. . And now hotmail won't let me in because I'm not at home on Grenada, which is of course where my phone is.

Yes, I'm grateful I've not been hacked, but what use is email if you can't use it?

*** Leo's Blog

"Right to be Forgotten": Misguided and Misleading

The European Union's highest court recently ruled that search engines, namely Google and maybe Bing, need to honor requests from individuals to be removed from their search indexes in support of a concept known as "the right to be forgotten".

There are many ethical, political and moral discussions that are happening around the topic right now. While I certainly have opinions in those realms, I want to take a look at it from a purely practical point of view.

That view?

It just can't work.

Continue Reading: "Right to be Forgotten": Misguided and Misleading
http://askleo.com/?p=14510

•

Additional Comments

I'm not the only "Ask" in town! Last week I had the opportunity to guest post over at my friend Dave Taylor's site Ask Dave Taylor. Check out Do I need to use Internet Explorer to get Windows Updates?

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Leo A. Notenboom

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