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Fitness apps used by soldiers may have inadvertently revealed their location and activities while deployed overseas. They've been warned to activate privacy options that can prevent data collection. The problem is with an app called Strava, which ... lets users track their activity when they go running or cycling. It goes beyond some apps that simply allow individuals to keep their own records or choose to share them with friends for motivation or suggested routes. Instead, Strava combines all the data collected from a reported 27 million users and produces "heat maps" that show the most ... (view more)

Infopackets Ready Sally G. writes: " Dear Dennis, I just bought a new Windows 10 laptop and the touchpad scroll does not appear to be working. On my old Vista laptop, I had a scroll bar on the touchpad (on the far right), but the new Windows 10 ... laptop doesn't have this feature. Normally when I open a PDF file I need to zoom in and out. I would do this on the old laptop by pressing CTRL on my keyboard and using the scroll bar on the touchpad. On this laptop, I am at a complete loss. Can you tell me how I can fix my touchpad scroll? " My response: Each laptop manufacturer has their own way of ... (view more)

Microsoft is to give Windows 10 users more details about exactly what an app is able to do on their computer. It's a similar security measure to that available on some mobile device apps. Until now, apps only usually have to get a Windows user's ... permission when they want to access location data, for example in a mapping tool. That's changing with the 2017 Fall Creators Update, the next major twice-yearly feature update for Windows 10. Microphone and Webcam Access Need Permission The change means apps will need the user's permission to access key hardware components on the computer such as a ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Steve C. writes: " Dear Dennis, I am running a Windows 10 PC, which I share with my daughter. Lately I have begun receiving Facebook notifications / popups on the lower right corner of my desktop. These notifications appear every ... few minutes and it is literally driving me insane. I cannot figure out how to shut this setting off. Searching Google for 'windows disable facebook popups' isn't of any help because I am getting different answers. One says to disable the Facebook app, another says it's a Facebook setting. I have no idea how to do either because I don't even use ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Judy G. writes: " Dear Dennis, I'm running Windows 7. Throughout the day, I often receive a message from Windows that says: 'Windows has detected your computer's performance is slow ... To improve performance, try changing the ... color scheme to Windows 7 Basic.' I click the option to 'Keep the current color scheme, and don't show this message again', but the error message 'Windows has detected your computer's performance is slow...' returns about 5 minutes later. I don't understand why this message appears, and I can't stop it from reappearing! It's incredibly annoying! Can ... (view more)

How to Fix: Disable Airplane Mode in Windows 10 Infopackets Reader Eric H. writes: " Dear Dennis, When I used my computer last night (after returning home from work), I was immediately told that there was no Internet connection - none of my web ... browsers would work. I tried to reset my router by unplugging it, waiting a few seconds, and plugging it back in, but that did not help. With that said, I did notice that when I moved the mouse over the network icon in the system tray bar, a dialogue box says I have Airplane Mode turned on. I should mention this is a desktop PC. I managed to go to the ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Sammy G. writes: " Dear Dennis, I just upgraded to Windows 10 following your advice. Everything looks great, however, my Windows 10 clock is missing - it's just up and gone - completely disappeared! I don't understand how or why ... the windows 10 clock went missing, but I'd like to get it back. Can you help? " My response: Based on my experience, the Windows 10 clock can disappear in one of two ways: either by a misplaced (or corrupt) system setting, or if your user account - or Windows itself - is corrupt. How to Fix: Windows 10 Clock Missing Adjusting Task Bar Settings ... (view more)

Windows 10 "phones home" thousands of times each day even with the most restrictive privacy settings, according to a newly published article. While the precise figures are in question, it highlights ongoing concerns about Microsoft monitoring. The ... experiment was carried out by a message board poster using the somewhat unlikely name of CheesesCrust. He decided to find out exactly what happens if Windows 10 is run with all tracking supposedly disabled. (Source: voat.co ) To do this, he used a virtual machine tool on a laptop to simulate installing Windows on a completely new machine. ... (view more)

Infopackets Tina V. writes: " Dear Dennis, I just upgraded to Windows 10 and am using Edge as my default web browser -- it's very different than Internet Explorer. Can you tell me: how can I change the start page in Edge? Right now it opens up with ... a bunch of tiles, asking me "where to" - and I don't like it. I'd much change my home page in Edge to start with Google.com. Any help you can offer would be appreciated! " My response: Changing the start or home page in Edge is much different than Internet Explorer, mostly because Microsoft Edge is made for touch-enabled devices. That said, getting ... (view more)

If you've deliberately avoided upgrading to Windows 10 up until now, you may need to re-check your Windows Update settings. Two forthcoming changes to Windows Update means Windows 10 could install by default without users realizing. Unlike with ... previous systems, Microsoft is treating Windows 10 as literally being an update to Windows 7 and 8 in the same way as ordinary bug fixes and feature additions. That's how it was previously possible to "pre-register" for the free upgrade and have it installed automatically on launch date without having to specifically search out a ... (view more)