Leo’s Answers #97 – September 28, 2007

Leo's Answers
A Weekly Newsletter From
Ask Leo!
Leo Notenboom

Hello!

*** Contents

• This Week's New Articles on Ask Leo!
• A Word from our Sponsor
• Popular Articles from the Archives
• Thoughts and Comments
• Newsletter Administration

*** This Week's New Articles on Ask Leo!

Why am I getting some "Passport" login screen when I click on a "contact us" link?

When I am at a site and want to email them I click on the 'contact us' link. The page that pops up is some kind of "passport password required" message. I get it when I'm on my computer, library computers, & other computers. How can I email them without this?

The computer you're using is set to use Hotmail as it's default mail program. Passport is (or was) the mechanism to login to a Hotmail account. In order to send the email that you indicated you want to send, you need to login to your Hotmail account to do so.

Even as Hotmail transitions to Windows Live Mail, and the login screen looks less like Passport and more like ... well, something else, the fact is there's still a login screen.

What if that's not what you were expecting? What if you don't use Hotmail?

Continue reading: "Why am I getting some "Passport" login screen when I click on a "contact us" link?"
http://ask-leo.com/why_am_i_getting_some_passport_login_screen_when_i_click_on_a_contact_us_link.html

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Is it normal for an IP address to change from time to time?

I noticed a while back that my IP address changed. I had the one previous to the change for a long time and then noticed that it changed. Is it normal for an IP address to change from time to time?

For most folks, the answer is absolutely yes.

There are ways around it, but for most common usage, the fact that your IP might change from time to time isn't an issue.

Continue reading: "Is it normal for an IP address to change from time to time?"
http://ask-leo.com/is_it_normal_for_an_ip_address_to_change_from_time_to_time.html

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How do I prevent my blog posts from being copied?

I have a blog on blogger.com and every time i make a post the Post ends up on a couple different web sites,like a carbon copy. How do i prevent/stop this from happening. I've tried everything to stop the indexing/leeching but nothing works,do you have any ideas? Thank You for your time.

I'm not defending them, but now you'll understand how the record companies feel. What you're experiencing is a copyright violation and theft, pure and simple.

And for what it's worth, I feel your pain.

The short answer is that you can't stop it. Not entirely. However we can reduce it somewhat, and depending on the method being used to steal the content, we can even put it to use, sort of.

Continue reading: "How do I prevent my blog posts from being copied?"
http://ask-leo.com/how_do_i_prevent_my_blog_posts_from_being_copied.html

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What does "leaving a secure internet connection" mean?

My computer occasionally tells me that you are about to leave a secure internet connection. It would be possible for others to view information you send. What does this mean.

Most of the time it's an informational message that you can safely ignore. However there are times that it's critically important to know what it means, and whether or not you should be doing something differently.

The issue?

Someone could be eavesdropping.

Continue reading: "What does "leaving a secure internet connection" mean?"
http://ask-leo.com/what_does_leaving_a_secure_internet_connection_mean.html

* * *

Why is there more than one "RECYCLER" folder on my machine, and why don't they all empty when I empty the Recycle Bin?

I have just emptied the recycle bin on my c-drive and when I go to the hidden folder C:RECYCLER and check it, it is definitely empty. When I go to my other hard drive and check there, the F:RECYCLER folder, which previously held 5.96 GB still holds 2.56 GB of data in 5000 files. Why is that left, and how do I empty all recycle bins completely?

I'd always wondered about this myself, but never took the time to investigate the nuances of the Recycle Bin. It turns out that multiple drives are only part of the confusion.

One hint: remember that Windows XP is a multi-user operating system.

Continue reading: "Why is there more than one "RECYCLER" folder on my machine, and why don't they all empty when I empty the Recycle Bin?"
http://ask-leo.com/why_is_there_more_than_one_recycler_folder_on_my_machine_and_why_dont_they_all_empty_when_i_empty_the_recycle_bin.html

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Web Advertising: good or evil?

Advertising powers the web. Is that a good thing, a bad thing, or just an annoyance?

Continue reading: "Web Advertising: good or evil?"
http://ask-leo.com/web_advertising_good_or_evil.html

*** A Word from our Sponsor

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Advertisement. Ask Leo about advertising here.

*** Popular Articles from the Archives

Sometimes it seems like even doing all the right things isn't enough ...

I run Anti-Virus software, why do I still sometimes get infected?

It's a good question. And the answer is partly the nature of anti-virus software...

... and partly the nature of "the race".

Read more... I run Anti-Virus software, why do I still sometimes get infected?
http://ask-leo.com/i_run_antivirus_software_why_do_i_still_sometimes_get_infected.html

*** Thoughts and Comments

Not a lot to say this week. I've been in San Diego, CA for a entrepreneur's conference, and that's kept me pretty busy. Most of this week's content was all written last week in preparation for what I expected would be a very busy week. If you're reading this ... it's because it was written last week, and I didn't have time to replace it with something more timely

Hopefully this week'll allow me to catch up once again in real time.

'till next time...

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The Latest: at Forwarded Funnies: "Super Heroes [photo]"

Some of Leo's other sites: The Ask Leo! Store, Leo's Online Business Card, Taming Email, MovableType Tips, Leo's Blog, Buy Leo a Latte, Buy Leo a Beer, A Letter To Myself, Dolls and Friends, Corgwn.com

*** Newsletter Administration

Do you have a question? A comment, perhaps? Newsletter subscribers can visit http://ask-leo.com/askleosubscriber.html to submit your comments and questions. That page is only mentioned here, so I'll know it's from someone who's taken the time to read this far!

I'll be honest: I'll try to respond, but I get a lot of questions every day - I just can't answer everyone. Rest assured, though, that even if you don't hear from me directly, every email gets read.

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