Long gone, but now back… sort of. :)
There’s a new exploit making the rounds that allows hackers to access your PC and steal personal data. Its vector is Internet Explorer (“IE”), including the copy of IE bundled inside every Windows 10 setup! Even if you never use IE, never click on it, or never call it up in any way, it’s there,…
(Answer requested by Daniel Price.) If you have a more-or-less normal PC running more-or-less normal Windows, you can flip the screen orientation — up, down, sideways right, sideways left — just by tapping a few keys. It’s possible you accidentally hit one of these key combinations. (They key combinations are deliberately weird to make them…
The column reprinted below was originally published in the August 15, 2013, Windows Secrets newsletter. Today, it supplements a new, free column, “Why am I not able to reset my PC or reinstall Windows?” (all versions), posted here: https://langa.com/?p=2602. I’m reprinting selected Windows Secrets columns here to help ensure readers can find and access information…
The column reprinted below was originally published in the July 14, 2011, Windows Secrets newsletter. I’m reprinting selected Windows Secrets columns here to help ensure readers can find and access information I’m referencing in new columns; until older Windows Secrets/LangaList columns are moved to their new home at AskWoody.com. Specifically, this column supplements “Why am I…
(Answer requested by Reese Lynn.) The most common problems include obsolete drivers (check your PC vendor site for updates); too-aggressive third-party software (e.g. anti-rootkits/anti-malware); and disk errors (run chkdsk ). For some general how-to fixes, see this text; it mentions Win7, but the general fixes discussed there work on any Windows version. Also, Google/web-search for the…
Reader Ron Ashrovy wonders if frequent factory resets are dangerous. No: PCs, phones, TVs, or whatever, should not be damaged by frequent factory resets, beyond the measure of extra wear and tear that such resets cause. (A system undergoing reset typically works very hard for a while as it sets itself back up; but this isn’t…
I had same question when Win10 first appeared, so I carefully benchmarked Win10 vs Win8.1 and Win7, on identical systems, in both upgrade and clean-install versions. I wrote a full feature article about it. You can read it here: https://langa.com/?p=2366 Want the short form? In these real-life tests with identical hardware, Win10 was actually slightly…
The column reprinted below was originally published in the August 6, 2015, Windows Secrets newsletter. Today, it supplements a new column, posted today, here: https://langa.com/?p=2460 (I’m reprinting selected Windows Secrets columns here to help ensure readers can find and access information I’m referencing in new columns; until older Windows Secrets/LangaList columns are moved to their…
You usually can delete them, carefully. Sometimes, leftover files are just sloppy programming — the app’s uninstall routine doesn’t target and remove everything that the app added to the system. D’oh! Sometimes, the files are left in anticipation of future need. For example, if an app requires a somewhat uncommon Windows component, that component may…
The column reprinted below was originally published in the December 11, 2014, Windows Secrets newsletter. Today, it supplements a new LangaList column scheduled for the March 25, 2019, AskWoody Plus Newsletter. Click on over for a look! (I’m reprinting selected Windows Secrets columns here to help ensure readers can find and access information that I’m…