QUICK TIPS
We fix readers’ computing problems
INTERNET BROWSER ADD-ON HIJACK
I was looking for a browser extension to capture a screenshot of an entire web page and settled on Fireshot, but after a recent update I’ve found it’s now somehow installed itself to my Taskbar Notification area. How do I now get rid of this? Tim Ellis This is rather sneaky behaviour, as Fireshot has added a desktop instance of itself, which basically runs whenever your browser is open. You can close this manually without closing your browser via its Taskbar Notification area icon, but you can’t remove it permanently.
If this is a dealbreaker — it was for Tim as the program hijacked key shortcuts from other programs — then you’ll need to remove Fireshot completely. Tim was using Firefox, so we instructed him to type ‘about:addons’ into the Address Bar. Locate Fireshot and click Remove, restarting Firefox to complete the process. Ian Sleightholm
INTERNET CAN’T BLOCK SPAM WITH FILTER
Spam always finds a way of evading spam filters, so I’ve set up rules for dealing with unwanted mail using trigger words in the subject line. But somehow these words aren’t being detected and email keeps coming through. Can you explain why and how to fix this going forward? Ian McAndrew Outlook’s junk mail capabilities are no longer that effective thanks to Microsoft no longer updating its SmartScreen spam filter as of November 2016. Try running the rule manually — if it works, then the rule itself may have corrupted (try deleting and recreating it), or you may need to delete and recreate the Send/ Receive settings file. To do this, close Outlook, then press ‘ Win-R’, type %AppData%\Microsoft\Outlook and hit Enter. Rename the .srs file you find inside with an .old extension. Then restart Outlook and try again.
If this doesn’t work, or you want a more effective spam-blocking solution, then investigate a third-party mail cleaning tool such as Mailwasher ( www.mailwasher.net) or PopTrayU ( poptrayu.sourceforge.net), which blocks spam at the server level — and is a more effective way of keeping it from your mailbox. Cat Ellis
SECURITY RANSOMWARES AND NETWORK SHARES
I back up a fail-safe copy to my networked hard drive, but I have learned it may not be
immune to a ransomware attack. What can I do to protect it? Alice Thomas
The best way to prevent ransomware from infecting any network shares is to make sure that your network credentials aren’t stored in Windows. This is a two-step process — first, make sure your Windows user account doesn’t have access to the network share in question (in other words, create a dedicated username and password for accessing that share — easier to do when logging on to a NAS drive). And second, when you log on to a network share, resist the temptation to tick the box marked ‘Remember my credentials’ — you’ll have to manually enter a username and password each time you log on, but it reduces the share’s exposure to potential infection. If you currently have saved network credentials in Windows, you can easily remove them: type ‘credentials’ into the Search box and then click ‘Manage Windows credentials’ to access the built-in Credential Manager tool. You should see entries for each saved network password under ‘Windows Credentials’ — next, click the ‘v’ button followed by ‘Remove > Yes’. This should clear it. If you’re backing up to a network share, check to see if your backup tool can save those network credentials independently of Windows — for example, in Macrium Reflect, select ‘Other Tasks > Edit Defaults > Network’ tab. Click Add to manually add a network path, username and password and then click OK twice. You can now back up without exposing your network share to ransomware. Nick Peers
INTERNET RANDOM INTERNET CONNECTION PROBLEMS
I have a problem whereby my internet connection appears to stop working or otherwise slows down — there’s no pattern as to when it occurs and it’s particularly noticeable when downloading images in emails or from the internet. Can you help me resolve this issue please? Connor Hatton We answered a similar question a couple of years ago. We asked Connor what motherboard he had installed — it was a Gigabyte. You can see which motherboard is installed in your computer using the free Speccy system information tool if you don’t already know — get it from www.piriform.com. We then checked whether Connor had installed Gigabyte’s LAN Optimizer ( www.gigabyte.com/MicroSite/300/ lan-optimizer.html), which is used to regulate network connections. Disabling this immediately improved matters. The program has a reputation for disrupting internet connections and not performing as it should, so Connor was happy to remove the program and finally fix the problem. Ian sleightholm
SECURITY CAN’T DELETE AN IDENTITY SAFE VAULT
I set up a Norton Identity Safe a while back, but did nothing with it. I’ve forgotten the password, but despite following the advice online, I can’t see an option to delete and recreate the vault from scratch after failing to enter the correct password three times. Can you help me please? Kyle Watkins It sounds as if you’re trying to log on through your web browser, Kyle. Although it’s not mentioned in the support article, you can only reset the vault using Norton Internet Security — the desktop version of Identity Safe was recently discontinued. If you’re a Norton user, open the main application, then click Identity followed by Identity Safe. You’ll be prompted for the password — entering it incorrectly here will enable you to delete the vault and create a new one with a fresh password. You will need to re-enter your Norton account password as part of the vault creation procedure. If you’re not using other Norton products, we’d recommend ditching Identity Safe for LastPass ( www.lastpass.com) or KeePassX ( www.keepassx.org) instead, choosing the latter if you’re uncomfortable storing your passwords in the cloud. Rob Mead-Green