HeroicStories

Changes are coming to Ask Leo!, including the removal of outside ads. I'll explain why this (very) scary step is necessary, how search engines and AI are changing the game, what it means for the future of the site, and how you can help.

Online advertising is the equivalent to the wild west. Advertisers use every technique they can get away with to get attention and sales. I'll review what you can do about it and what steps I'm taking as a website owner.

Turning off remote access in Windows might feel safe, but it doesn't block the kind of access scammers use. I'll show you why those settings aren't enough, how remote scams really work, and what simple habits will actually keep your computer secure.

Think clearing your browser or deleting files keeps your work computer activity private? Nope. I'll walk you through the ways employers can recover or track what you've done, sometimes even after you've “erased” it, and why you should always assume they're watching.

Dozens of Edge processes in Task Manager? Not to worry. It's not a bug, it's a feature. I'll show you why modern browsers split tasks across multiple processes and how it actually helps things run faster, smoother, and more reliably.

A security professional shared the top four most successful hacks that compromise business accounts. I'll walk through them and show how they all apply to you and me as well.

It's important, yet sometimes hard to tell, if a website is safe. You can stack the odds in your favor. I'll show you simple tools and smart habits to help spot shady sites before they cause trouble, even if there's no way to always be 100% sure.

If a website makes you re-enter your email just to unsubscribe, it's bad design, or worse, a shady tactic. I'll explain why this happens, what it means, and how to spot when it's just spam trying to trick you.

Thinking about closing your email account? You might want to think again. From lost data to unexpected lockouts, and even someone else ending up with your old email address, I'll walk you through what happens, and why keeping the account might be the smarter move.

File History doesn't let you limit how much space it uses, but there's a workaround. I'll show you how to partition your drive so File History stays in its lane, protecting both your backups and your disk space.

I'll discuss what you should do in the wake of the latest data breach.

I'll explain why searching for a tech-support phone number is one of the most dangerous steps you can take when you're looking for help.

Current partition style won't work? I'll walk you through what that means and two ways to convert between GPT and MBR partition styles.

Closing or abandoning an email account can have unexpected and perhaps unwanted side effects. I'll explain what those are and what options you have.

Two factor authentication is one of the most important things you can set up to protect your accounts. Even so, it's possible to share certain 2FA types with multiple authorized people. I'll show you how I do it.

Here's my step-by-step guide on how to run a complete malware scan using Windows 10 and 11's built-in Windows Security.

Https is important, but now that it's ubiquitous it's not really protecting you as much as you might think. I'll explain what I mean and why that is.

Email bounces from messages you didn't send can be disconcerting. I'll explain what's happening, why you probably don't need to worry, and what steps you might take anyway.

There are some persistent myths about two-factor authentication that stop people from adopting it. I'll clear them up so you can use this simple yet powerful security feature with confidence.

Extracting data from a hard drive in a dead computer shouldn't be too difficult (unless it's the drive itself that caused the problem). I'll walk you through some of the options and steps you can take.

Your computer's CPU is a complex piece of circuitry trying to maximize how much it can do and how quickly it can do it. I'll outline one of the techniques that makes a single CPU core look like two.

Accidentally clicking a malicious link might be benign if you catch it soon enough. I'll review what makes the difference, and what steps you need to take next.

Copying text from error messages or images can be difficult. OCR tools like Text Extractor make it easy. I'll show you how.

What OneDrive does with your files can be both frustrating and confusing. I'll walk through two important issues: what's really on your computer (or not) and the impact of using OneDrive's horrid "backup feature".

Any security software can miss something. It's important to understand why this is and what you can do about it.

The Windows clipboard is a fundamental and exceptionally useful feature that many take for granted. I'll review what it is and what it's good for.

The concept of phishing has spawned a variety of "ishing" terms. They represent different ways scammers try to achieve a common goal: to scam you. I'll review what they all mean.

I want to explain why I have more than one recommendation for a backup program. Talking about one doesn't mean I've stopped recommending the other(s).

I wanted to see if I could live without OneDrive and avoid the risk that OneDrive would make changes I didn't request. Turns out, it's not that hard. I'll walk you through what I did and how I did it.

A BIOS password provides a surprising amount of security on a computer -- so much that if the password is lost, chances for recovery are slim.

Printer problems can be frustrating. I'll show you a quick, safe, easy technique to try first.

I share my rule of thumb for choosing the size of an external backup drive.

There's a lot of FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) about the supposed risk of using Windows 10 past its end of support. Here's what I think.

The results are in for last year's most common passwords. The implications are depressing.

Sometimes, a picture is worth a thousand words, but sometimes you just want the words! I'll show you how to use Windows built-in Snipping Tool to extract the text from an image using its built-in OCR.

Windows 12 isn't even a glimmer in anyone's eye yet. Anyone that says different is misguided and/or misleading. I'll review what we do and don't know, and who you should and shouldn't pay attention to.

Passkeys and hardware authentication keys are completely different but partially related. You can use some, but not all, hardware keys as passkeys. I'll clear up the confusion, and tell you what to look for.

Before giving away a machine or returning a loaner, it's important to remove your personal information from it. That may be both harder and easier than you think. I'll show you where traditional suggestions fail, and what you need to do instead.

Connectivity is becoming an added perk in some housing situations. Make sure you know the risks and alternatives when someone else provides your internet connection.

When it comes to links on webpages and HTML email, what you see is not always where you go. Hovering over a link is an important technique to look before you leap.

Disaster planning includes thinking about your technology and online access.

You would think that for such an important concept as end-to-end encryption there's be some agreement on exactly what it means. Sadly, not so. There's the correct definition, and then there's the marketing definition. One protects you, the other not so much.

CHKDSK, short for Check Disk, is a utility that checks the integrity of the files and file structure of your hard disk. I'll walk you through it.

There are many ways accounts can be compromised. There are also many simple ways you can protect yourself.

Floppies come and floppies go, but C: is apparently forever.

It's common to want confirmation your machine hasn't been compromised in some way. We can get close, but we can't prove it.

Some people are afraid to leave their external backup drive connected. They're trading a small risk for a much, much larger one.

Many Windows components log messages and use Event Viewer to display them. Sadly, the messages are often cryptic and inconsistent, and the result is a mess that scammers take advantage of.

My favorite question? You'll never guess. Hint: it makes my job super easy, and you don't want that.

Can we apply AI to the problem of spam? We're already there.

Losing a device with a passkey to one of your accounts will not lock you out.