Wednesday 22nd July 2020
File History
Margaret found that File History on her Windows 10 PC was not backing up to the correct drive. You can manage File History by going to:-
Start, Settings, Update & Security, Backup
If you are using File History, the slide-switch here will be On.
Just under this switch you can click on More Options.
You will then see, under the Overview heading, the name and drive letter being used for backups. Verify that this is correct. If not, scroll right down to the bottom of this screen to the heading Back up to a different drive. Here, you can click on Stop using drive and then you can start File History over again, using a new drive.
Burn File To Disks
Margaret asked about copying files to a CD/DVD on Windows 10. Provided the disks have been correctly initialised, you can copy and paste files to them. Since the Club, I have found this article which explains a little more about the process:-
However, many modern laptops do not have optical drives to read CD/DVDs, so it would perhaps be better to save the files to a USB drive, rather than an optical disk. As Brian pointed out, it is difficult to physically label USB drives - you might need to store them in small plastic bags with a paper list of their contents.
Shared Experience Settings
Cherry had a problem on her Windows 10 PC saying there was an issue with the account settings in her Shared Experience Settings. Cherry has repeatedly verified her account details with no effect. My suggestion was to go to:-
Start, Settings, System, Shared experiences
There are a couple of switches here - one under Nearby sharing and another under Share across devices. As its unlikely that either of these are required, I suggest turning them both off.
Pop-ups in Chrome
Cherry had a further issue with pop-ups in Google Chrome. In Chrome, you can do the following:-
Click on the 3-dots (top right)
Click Settings, Privacy and security.
Click Site Settings and scroll down and click Pop-ups and redirects.
Ensure the switch is set to Blocked (rather than Allowed)
PUP
Phil suggested this might also be caused by a PUP - Potentially Unwanted Program. PUPs sometimes get inadvertently installed when you are downloading other software. I suggested downloading and installing Malwarebytes from:-
Select the free trial. Once installed, run a full scan and, if any suspect software is detected, then remove it.
Having done that, I recommend uninstalling Malwarebytes so that it does not take over from Windows Defender as the antivirus package.
Control
What Happens to Your Google Data
If
you want to plan what happens to your Google data when you die or cannot access
your account yourself, here is what you can do:-
- Go to https://myaccount.google.com/inactive and sign in with your Google Account credentials.
- Click the Start button and complete the form, pressing Next between each section.
You
need to add a mobile number where you can be contacted, together with email
addresses which Google will use to try to contact you before the plan is
triggered.
You
can then add the email address(es) of the person(s) to be contacted when the
plan is triggered. If you choose to
share your data, these people will receive a link enabling them to
download it.
Alternatively, you
can decide if you want your data to be deleted at that time.
At
any time, you can return to the above address and modify or turn off this plan.
Google
Takeout
Some
of you may remember that we looked at another Google feature called Takeout at
the Club in November last year. This lets you download copies of any or all your data that Google stores. See the blog for more details:-
Browser
Tabs
We
mentioned one tip about pinning Tabs in web browsers at the Club on 27th
May 2020:-
Another
tip that might be useful on a Windows PC – if you have several tabs open, you
can drag a tab away from the Tab Bar and it will become a separate window. In
effect, this creates a second instance of the same browser, so you now have 2
windows running the same browser (e.g. Edge, Chrome, Firefox, etc). If you have a
second screen attached to your PC, this can be handy, so you have an instance of
the same browser on each screen.
Another
way to open a second instance of many Windows applications is by use of the
Shift key. This is easiest to use if you have the relevant app pinned to the
Taskbar. So, let’s say you have Edge pinned to your Taskbar – a single click
will open Edge. Now, hold down the Shift key and click on the Edge icon on the Taskbar again and
another instance of Edge will open in another window. Alternatively, you could
right-click on the Taskbar icon and click on Microsoft Edge. This can be
useful for side-by-side comparisons of web pages. This works for many other programs
including Word, File Explorer, etc.
Task View Issue - Resolved
Last time, Margaret mentioned an issue with Task View on Windows 10 - see blog for last meeting:-
She found that deleting items from Task View left a 'ghost image' rather than removing it completely. However, Margaret reported that, after a recent Windows update, this issue was now resolved.
Windows 10 - 2004 Update
Phil raised the issue where some systems indicate they are not yet ready for the 2004 update. As far as I know, this is still happening, although the update is gradually being released to additional systems. The advice is still to wait until the update system says it is ready for your machine.
There will be another update in the autumn, currently designated as 20H2 - i.e. 2020, 2nd half of the year. This will be a fairly simple update that does not introduce new features.
Windows, Mac, Chromebooks
We had some discussion about the pros and cons of these systems. In general, if you are getting a new PC, it might be wise to stick with what you know.
For a lot of users who spend most of their computer time in a web browser, a Chromebook is worth considering. I wrote a document a couple of years ago about Chromebooks which you can find here:-
Chromebooks can also now run Android apps.
Brian asked about getting photos from a camera onto a Chromebook. Chromebooks have limited storage, so you would probably not want to store them on the device, but rather to store them on Google Drive. After the meeting I have found this Google article on that topic:-
Laptop or Desktop
Brian raise this issue which we discussed. They both have the same capabilities, so it comes down to factors such as portability, screen size, keyboard size, etc.
As Phil mentioned, desktop systems can now take the form of an "All-in-One" which consists of a large screen with the computer, storage drive etc attached to the rear of the screen.
No single device fits every need, so some users may, for example, choose a desktop with a large screen, together with an iPad for portability.
Can You Spot A Scam?
We had a brief discussion about scam messages, calls, texts, etc. I suggested looking at this site:-
The site is operated by UK Finance which represents the UK banking industry.
Scroll down the page and look for "Are You Scam-Savvy" and click on the Let's Go button. This takes you through 9 questions based on sample email/text messages. You have to decide which are scams - you will be told if you are correct or not.
In general, be cautious if you get a phone call, text, email or even a knock on the door that you are not expecting. Do not be panicked into action. Use a known contact number or email, to contact the organisation to verify anything you are being told.
Pinterest Notifications
Linda was getting unwanted email notifications from Pinterest, which she had signed up to. You can edit the notifications by logging in and following these instructions:-
I think the above applies to the mobile app. If you are using a browser on your PC do the following:-
Click the down arrow at the top right
Go to Settings, Notifications
Edit the notifications to disable them all.
Next Session
Wed 12th August 2020 at 2pm by Zoom.
