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Ask Bob Rankin search results: firewall
Disable Vista UAC
"I'm getting popups on Vista saying "Windows needs your permission to continue." Is this spyware or something I need to deal with? If it's part of Vista, can I turn this annoying 'feature' off?"...
Are The Spammers Winning?
It seems to be a given these days, as much as death and taxes -- spam (the email variety, not the canned meat product) is not going away. Back in 2004, Bill Gates predicted the death of spam in 2006....
The Top Twenty
Every few months I go through the Ask Bob logs and see which articles were the most popular. Here is the current Top Twenty, ranked by readership volume......
Share A Printer Online
"Is it possible to print over the Internet? Sometimes I'm working at home and would like to print directly to my office printer. Both computers are online, so it seems like it should be possible to print over the Internet....
Free Anti-Virus Programs
"I've been using the free Norton antivirus package that came with my computer, but the subscription will expire in a few days. Are the free anti-virus programs any good? What do you recommend?"...
Computer Privacy At Work
Can the boss really see when you're surfing the Internet at work? Can the geeks from the IT Department monitor everything you do on your PC? Are any of them keeping tabs on those last twenty minutes of your lunch...
Forgot Facebook Password
Did you forget your Facebook password? Having trouble logging in? Or did you forget the email address for your Facebook login? Maybe your email account is not working, so you can't change your password. Or maybe it's something with a...
Office Format Converters
"I recently upgraded to Microsoft Office 2007, and I have a problem. When I save a document or spreadsheet in an Office 2007 program, other people cannot open it. It seems the file is incompatible with other versions of Office....
What Is a Rootkit?
Rootkit... the name sounds innocent enough. Kinda like something your Grandma would use in her garden. Actually, rootkits are a particularly nasty form of malware, created to wreak havoc on computers....
Anonymous Web Surfing
Going online can be like taking a walk in the park after midnight. Behind every tree there may be someone getting ready to mug you. This article will tell you how to surf the web with a higher level of...
AOL for Free?
"I read somewhere that AOL is going to stop charging for their Internet service and make AOL access free. Is that true, and if so, are there any gotchas I should now about?"...
Spam Blocker
"I'm having a terrible time with spam emails. Suddenly I started getting dozens per day, and I can't seem to get rid of them. Is there a spam blocker or spam filter that's easy and just works?"...
CDROM Tray Opens
"My CDROM drive door keeps opening and closing by itself without prompting. Do I need to change a setting or is my computer possessed?"...
Secure Your Computer!
Cyberspace malefactors are enslaving millions of unsecured computers into zombie networks that are responsible for spewing out mountains of spam and attacking legitimate websites that oppose the spammers. Is your PC part of the problem? Find out now......
Blocking Myspace
"My daughter is 12 years old and I just found out she has a Myspace account with some stuff that's not appropriate. The account was deleted, but I want to make sure she has no access to Myspace in the...
Sharing a Printer
"I have two computers but only one printer. I understand there is a way to share the printer so both can print to it. Can you tell me how to do that?"...
How to Stop Spam
It is estimated that 70% of emails sent over the Internet are unsolicited commercial e-mail. When you consider that over 35 BILLION emails are sent every day, the impact of spam is staggering. Here's what YOU can do to stop...
Red X appears instead of image?
"Sometimes in my emails or websites, the images do not appear, but a little red X shows up. Can you tell me please how to correct this?"...
Home Networking
"We just purchased a second computer and now we'd like to share the printer and Internet connection between them. How do I set up a simple home network?"...
Cannot Access Secure Sites
I have Windows XP SP2, and within the past two weeks I have not been able to get into any secure (https) sites. I can get to the web page, but when I enter my userid and password, it says...
What is Windows OneCare?
Microsoft has announced a new service called Windows OneCare. Is it something you need for your computer? Maybe... If you're worried about not doing everything you should to keep your PC optimized and safe, then Windows OneCare is something that...
Do I Need a Firewall?
"I've heard conflicting reports on whether or not I should be using a firewall. Some people say they are only needed for dialup users. Others say you MUST have a firewall if you have a highspeed DSL or cable connection....
Internet Connection Fails
"I am using XP home with a cable modem connection, and quite often using while online, I get the error of can't find the server. I just lose my internet connection, and it says my TCP/IP needs resetting. How do...
Clearing Browser History
"How do I clear the list of sites visited in my web browser? There are some nosy people in my office and I don't want them to be able to see what web sites I have visited."...
System Hangs
My system with a P4 processor and 1 Gig of RAM hangs quite often. I run Task Manager and it shows 100% of CPU use each time it hangs. This usually happens when opening or downloading PPS files. I'm running...
Is spoolsv.exe a Virus?
When I boot up, my ZoneAlarm firewall says that "Spooler SubSystem App is trying to access the internet via spoolsv.exe". I know that spoolsv.exe is the print queue manager in Windows. What I don't understand is why it would need...
Cannot Download
"Lately I have not been able to download any freeware. In the past I have downloaded Zonelabs Firewall, Spybot etc. Now when I press 'Click here to download' all I get is 'You are not authorized to view this page.'...
Do I need anti-virus software?
I have an unorthodox strategy for dealing with computer viruses. It doesn't involve the use of firewalls or anti-virus software. But if everyone understood the simple virus safety tips I'll outline here, the virus writers would get very bored very...
Search Tips
For best results, use just ONE or TWO keywords. This search engine looks for all words in any order. To search for an exact phrase, enclose the phrase in quotes. You may also use AND, OR, and NOT keywords to specify boolean expressions. For example:
"format drive"
spyware OR virus
phone NOT cell