Ask Leo! #340 - Cleaning up after malware, searching effectively, booting Ubuntu and much more in Answercast #2... - Confident Computing

The Ask Leo! Newsletter

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*** New Articles

Answercast #2: Thinkpad recording, context menus, broken screens and webcams, Microsoft popups

In this second "Answercast," we delve into ten questions from the Ask-Leo! question queue.

Has China removed line-in recording capabilities in Thinkpads? »»
Recovering RAW data on hard disk. »»
Help! I can't open an Excel file! »»
Uninstalled program still shows. »»
Tips for context menus. »»
Connect a laptop with broken screen to an HDTV? »»
Broken webcam with connection error. »»
Connect to internet in UK. »»
How does Microsoft put pop-ups on my computer? »»
Video calls on unprotected network. »»

Continue reading: Answercast #2: Thinkpad recording, context menus, broken screens and webcams, Microsoft popups
http://ask-leo.com/C5127

* * *

Why does my PC restart itself when trying to boot off of a Linux Ubuntu CD?

I'm running Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit. It's Linux Ubuntu 11.10 64-bit that I'm trying to install; burn the CD with Image Burn. If I set to boot priority CD, I get a 'prefix missing' error. If I finally boot, I get the purple splash screen, it will restart. What am I doing wrong?

Ubuntu's a great operating system that I use here at home on a couple of machines - a laptop on which I watch videos while exercising and on a desktop that actually runs as my local DNS and database server.

In this video excerpt from a recent Ask Leo! webinar, I'll discuss a couple of things to try to help diagnose the problem and point to a useful resource when dealing with Ubuntu related issues.

Continue reading: Why does my PC restart itself when trying to boot off of a Linux Ubuntu CD?
http://ask-leo.com/C5130

* * *

How do I clear up these lingering problems after a malware infection?

My Windows XP PC was infected by some viruses, which had changed some registry settings before they were removed. I noticed the infection after I found the malware called "SmartProtection 2012" was unexpectedly installed in my PC. After the virus removal, I now have both McAfee and Malwarebytes up to date and run regular full system scans to check if there is still something lurking around. Nothing suspicious is reported. But two problems remain:

(1)After this, the internet browsers (both I.E & Mozilla) always crash unexpectedly, especially when downloading a file (even just a small 20MB file).

(2)My Windows Security Center has been stopped and there is no way I can find to turn it back on.

You're not going to like my answer.

And, unfortunately, it's an answer that I end up giving somewhat often, and in fact, I've even written up before.

I'll give you a thought or two on perhaps dealing with at least one of the issues that you're facing.

But...

You'll quickly understand why malware infections are best avoided completely rather than trying to clean up after them.

Continue reading: How do I clear up these lingering problems after a malware infection?
http://ask-leo.com/C5129

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*** Last Issue's Articles

*** Word o' the Week

codec

codec is an acronym for coder/decoder, or more completely, encoder/decoder.

A codec is software that 'knows' how to encode and decode a specific audio or video format.

For example, one encoder might be used to create or interpret certain types of '.avi' encoded videos, while another might be required to handle '.m4p'.

In practice, most audio and video applications come with a set of codecs that allow them to be able to handle a certain pre-defined set of formats, typically those most commonly used. Only when a file comes along that is not in one of those formats is it necessary to consider locating a codec that understands it or finding a different application that comes with a codec that supports it.

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.

*** Leo Recommends

The Spam Primer - Learn about and deal with spam

Spam - unsolicited email - is a plague on email infrastructure. By some accounts, perhaps as much as 95% of all email traveling around the internet right now is spam.

One resource to battle the frustration is Randy Cassinghams's Spam Primer.

The Spam Primer has both explanations of just what is and is not spam, how it works, and how you might well be part of the problem.

Continue reading: The Spam Primer - Learn about and deal with spam
http://ask-leo.com/C4969

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?

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