Ask Leo! #355 - Just pulling the plug, exploding CDs, CISPA, BCC and more... - Confident Computing

The Ask Leo! Newsletter

*** New Articles

How do I get outgoing mail to display "Undisclosed-Recipients:;" in the TO field?

When using BCC to send out emails from Outlook Express, the recipient should see "Undisclosed-Recipient;" in the TO field. However, the recipients in my BCC list that I sent out see my own (the sender) email instead. Eventually, it is showing as FROM: myemail@domain.com, TO: myemail@domain.com. How do I get it to display "Undisclosed-Recipients:;" in the TO field?

I don't believe that it's something you can force.

By that, I mean I don't believe the exact phrase "Undisclosed-Recipients;" is any kind of standard or something that you can put in place yourself.

I don't think it's even controlled by the sender of the email.

I'll show you what I do instead.

Continue reading: How do I get outgoing mail to display "Undisclosed-Recipients:;" in the TO field?
http://ask-leo.com/C1958

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How do I change my Hotmail alternate email address if I can't access it any more?

I want to remove my alternate email address to which I no longer have access. When I want to delete it from the Hotmail account, the confirmation link from Hotmail will be sent to that alternate email. I tried adding the new alternate email, but then Hotmail still sends the confirmation to the old alternate email. How can I remove the old alternate email if I no longer have access to it?

I'll be honest and tell you that I know of no simple answer to this problem.

I'll also tell you that it's frighteningly common. Either through neglect or having been hacked, many Hotmail account holders are left with invalid or inaccessible alternate email addresses.

Alternate email addresses that they can't remove or change.

While I'll discuss the only possible solution that I'm aware of, I want to use this as an opportunity to emphasize the importance of keeping your alternate email address keeping current and accessible.

Continue reading: How do I change my Hotmail alternate email address if I can't access it any more?
http://ask-leo.com/C5346

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Can I just unplug my computer to shut it down?

I have been having problems with the Power button on my computer which turns itself on and off. I have stopped shutting down my computer because I have difficulty turning it back on. I just restart it every morning, but I really don't like leaving the computer on all the time. If I were to cut the power to the computer and then plug it back in the next morning, would I need to use the on/off button and would I be damaging anything?

Yes, but you may damage your computer.

By just pulling the plug, you run a good risk of corrupting data on your hard drive and a very small risk of actually damaging hardware.

I'm not sure what kinds of problems that you're having with the Power button, but even that needs to be used correctly, or you could end up with ... well, you could end up with the very problems that you're seeing.

Continue reading: Can I just unplug my computer to shut it down?
http://ask-leo.com/C5345

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Answercast #18 - Exploding CDs, dangerous mice, spy bills, securing routers, fast copying and more...

Continue reading: Answercast #18 - Exploding CDs, dangerous mice, spy bills, securing routers, fast copying and more...
http://ask-leo.com/C5347

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*** Last Issue's Articles

*** Comments

How can I slow down a video so I can understand conversations?

James writes:

To adjust the speed of playback in VLC media player, try hitting "[" to slow down, "]" to speed up, 10% at a time.

What is POP? Or POP3? Or a POP account? And what about SMTP?

Glenn P. writes:

Some ISPs are more particular, and may insist upon access via specific port numbers and/or via SSL as well as proper username and password for email account access.

It scarcely needs saying that these ISPs are pains in the gazobo!!! :(

The process may be painful, but there's a very important reason ISPs do this: spam. By requiring authentication and using non-standard ports, they can deal with spam much more aggressively. By connecting correctly, it's extremely unlikely that your email will be blocked by that ISP as spam as you send it out.

-Leo

How do I remove my personal information from a machine before giving it away?

Jerry Hancock writes:

I bought a used PC a few years ago and it was clean with only programs installed like it had when it was new. However, after about six months of use, I lost some data so I wound up buying a data recovery software for about $49. It ran and ran and ran. It took it 17 hours to finish. And when it was done, there was so much stuff loaded that I couldn't even find the one thing I was trying to recover. What a mess it was too. Pictures of people I didn't even know. Documents... the whole nine yards.

That's a classic example of a machine that had not been properly cleaned before being given away or sold.

-Leo

How do I get 32-bit software to run on 64-bit Windows?

Mal Russell writes:

Re 32-bit prog on 64 bit Win 7 OS. I have the opposite problem trying to run 64 bit on win 7 32 bit OS!
I have a new ECG monitor with this problem. It 1/2 works! Any other ideas Leo please?

You cannot run 64-bit software on a 32-bit operating system. The obvious solution is to upgrade to a 64-bit operating system. It's also possible that some virtual machine technologies will allow you to run a 64-bit operating system as a virtual machine in a 32-bit operating system as long as you have a 64-bit CPU. I know Parallels Workstation can do this, not sure about others.

-Leo

*** Thoughts and Comments

Webinar #13

My next webinar - lucky number 13 - will be on June 10th. You can get all the information, including the registration link, here: Webinar #13 - What's on Leo's Computer?

As the title implies, I'll spend the hour describing all of the software I run. Well, as much as will fit in an hour, anyway, along with any questions you might have.

To quote the article, "So, from pinned items and custom menus on my task bar, to programs running in the notification area to what's in my Start menu ... we'll just poke around and I'll describe what I run, why I run it, and whether or not it's something that you might be interested in as well."

I'm hoping this'll be interesting and useful to you.

I'm also completely expecting to learn from you about software I should try that I've either not heard of, or haven't gotten around to playing with yet.

Join me in June: Webinar #13 - What's on Leo's Computer?

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Webinar #12

Speaking of webinars, #12 last week was fun. An hour passed quickly as I addressed a number of questions brought by Ask Leo! readers and attendees. Thanks again to all who attended.

As it turns out, only one of the questions really warranted video, so look for that plus audio segments for the rest (with transcripts, as always) to appear over the course of the coming weeks.

•

And, no, I'm not purchasing any Facebook stock now that they're going public. It'll be interesting to see what it does, but ... no.

I'll stick to SBUX ... they certainly get their share of business from me Smile .

'till next week...

Leo
Leo A. Notenboom
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