Reader Support Your tech problems fixed
Having a problem with our recommended software or expert tips? Email editor@computeractive.co.uk and we’ll do our best to help
Why is Cybereason Ransomfree creating random files?
QINIssue 503’s Cover Feature (page 57) you recommend Cybereason Ransomfree to guard against ransomware. I installed it, but have since noticed some peculiarly named files and folders in my Documents folder and on my desktop (see screenshot below). My antivirus software reports a clean bill of health (as does Malwarebytes), but the overnight appearance of so many files still worries me. What’s going on? Should I delete them? Athe files you mention are actually known as ‘honeypot’ files, which are designed to trick any ransomware infections that contaminate your PC. Ransomware will try to encrypt these files first and when that happens Cybereason Ransomfree will pounce – think of it like a spider trapping flies in its web.
These files are crucial to the functioning of the program, so don’t delete them. They’re very small and take up a fraction of your hard drive’s space.
Is Castbox available for ipad?
QIwanted to give Castbox a try having read your Workshop on it (Issue 504, page 40), but I can’t find the app in the App Store for my ipad – nor can I download it from the Snipca address you provided ( www.snipca.com/24580). Help, please.
Audrey Chase
Athe
problem here is that you’re trying to download it on to your ipad. Strictly speaking, Castbox is designed to be used on a phone, not a tablet. To get round this, open the App Store on your ipad, search for castbox, then tap ‘ipad Only’ (at the top left). Select ‘iphone Only’ from the dropdown menu to sort your search results (see screenshot above). You will see Castbox listed in the search results.
Castbox will work on your ipad, though it might display at a lower resolution than standard ipad apps. This is because it’s been developed for a smaller iphone screen. In the app you can switch between a larger (but lowerresolution) mode, or a smaller (but higher-resolution) mode by tapping ‘1X’ or ‘2X’ at the bottom right.
Why isn’t PDF Anti-copy 1.0 locking my PDFS?
QI’M not sure that PDF Anti-copy 1.0 (Issue 504, page 19) works as you describe. I used it to generate a ‘locked’ PDF and then opened the PDF in Libreoffice, which let me delete characters, change the font size and more. Why isn’t the PDF locked?
Frank Prendergast
Ayou’ve
stumbled on to PDF AntiCopy’s Achilles heel. PDFS locked using the program can still be vulnerable to OCR, and Libreoffice applies OCR to PDFS automatically using Libreoffice Draw. You won’t be able to type new text into the locked PDF, but you can – as you have found – change font sizes and delete characters one at a time.
If someone is that determined to edit your PDF they may take the time to painstakingly delete every character one by one, but we think that’s unlikely. On the whole, we think Anti-copy remains a good solution for protecting your PDFS.
Do I really have to click so much?
Qafter following your Workshop on shredding folders, rather than just binning them (Issue 502, page 40), I’m left with only one problem: having to click so many folders just to reach my new ‘junk’ folder. Can I cut down the clicks?
Eamonn Colley
Ayes,
there is a way. You should use File Explorer to make a shortcut to any folder you create on your PC.
Open File Explorer, navigate to the folder in question (in this case, your Junk folder), then right-click it. Select ‘Create shortcut’ in the menu. A shortcut will be created in the folder itself. Right-click this shortcut, click Cut, then right-click on your desktop and click Paste. This will move the shortcut to your desktop. Double-click it to access your folder.