Ask Leo! #348 - Losing the internet in July, fixing what isn't broken, links to your Dropbox and more... - Confident Computing

The Ask Leo! Newsletter

*** New Articles

Are there now public links to everything in my Dropbox?

Dropbox recently announced that you can now share files and folders already in your Dropbox with a public link.

Previously, you could only share those files and folders you had explicitly placed in a specific public folder within your Dropbox. Now, you can link to any file anywhere in your Dropbox.

Anywhere?

Anywhere. And I'll admit that made me nervous.

Until a friend pointed me at something that Dropbox failed to mention in their announcement.

Continue reading: Are there now public links to everything in my Dropbox?
http://ask-leo.com/C5243

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Dealing with 'Not Responding' in Internet Explorer

"Not Responding" happens when programs that are supposed to "check in" with Windows periodically or allow Windows to check in with them, don't either because they're too busy and not written to allow that to happen, or they've crashed and/or are hung.

In this video segment from an Ask Leo! webinar, I discuss what "Not Responding" means and the most common cause when it happens in Internet Explorer.

Continue reading: Dealing with 'Not Responding' in Internet Explorer
http://ask-leo.com/C5232

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Answercast #11 - Ubuntu, Warcraft and Firefox questions, Windows Live Mail contacts, backups, restore points and more...

Continue reading: Answercast #11 - Ubuntu, Warcraft and Firefox questions, Windows Live Mail contacts, backups, restore points and more...
http://ask-leo.com/C5230

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Will I lose internet access in July?

I have read on the internet that hundreds of thousands of computers might lose internet access after July 09, 2012. Is this true? They have estimated that more than 20,000 of such computers are right here in my country. If this is true, how serious is the threat?

Will you lose internet access? I have no idea.

But many people whose computers have been compromised by malware just might. If you happen to be one of those people, then yes - there's a good chance you could wake up on July 9 to no internet.

I'll explain what happened, what's happening in July, what you need to do to find out if you're affected, and what to do if you are.

Continue reading: Will I lose internet access in July?
http://ask-leo.com/C5229

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*** Last Issue's Articles

*** Word o' the Week

Cruft

Cruft is commonly used to refer to the mess left inside of software as it is revised and updated.

As changes are made to software, updating, adding and changing features, it's not uncommon for some portions of the software to no longer be necessary. Often in a hurry to release new versions, this code is left in place because it would take additional time and introduce additional risk to actually remove it safely. Over time, cruft accumulates and can often present a significant issue to programmers attempting to understand and further modify the software.

Cruft is also occasionally used to refer simply to poor quality hardware or shoddily produced software, which might be referred to as "crufty".

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

Macrium Reflect - Powerful Windows Backup Software

I consider backing up to be one of the fundamental necessities for anyone who uses a computer.

As anyone with even a little experience will tell you, you will lose something important someday without a backup; it's not a matter of if, but a matter of when. And someone with more than a little experience will also be able to share horror stories of how and when they learned this important lesson.

In my opinion, that's why it's critical that you backup your computer and data regularly. As I've said repeatedly, if your data is in only one place, it's not backed up.

Over the years, I've developed a set of criteria - a set of features and characteristics - that I want out of a backup program before I recommend it.

Macrium Reflect makes the cut.

Continue reading: Macrium Reflect - Powerful Windows Backup Software
http://ask-leo.com/C4996

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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