All posts by Computers Made Simple

Back ups, Backing up your computer, Computers, Security, Undelete a file or folder, Windows, Windows Secrets

How to Undelete a File – even if you’ve permanently deleted it.

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Even if you have never heard of it, Windows System Recovery works silently in the background as you use your computer. It’s a small but very powerful tool that you can use to rescue a file that you have accidentally deleted, even if you have permanently deleted it. Here’s how it works:

1. Windows System Recovery is turned on by default when you install Windows. Unless you have specifically turned it off, it’s running now. Check this by clicking Start then right clicking Computer and choosing Properties. Click on System Protection and you will very likely see that System Restore is on.

2. Next, you must know the exact name of the file that you deleted. It doesn’t matter what kind of file it is, Windows can recover it. However, you must know the exact name of the file, including what kind of file it was. The last three letters, whether they be .txt or .avi or .jpg, etc.,  are important here.

3. The file can’t be something that you just saved and then deleted. There has to be a restore point in between the time you created the file and the time that you deleted it. Go back to Computer and check how often Windows creates a restore point. Restore points can be created manually but won’t be any good after you have accidentally deleted a file.

4. Here’s the fun part. Windows Notepad can save a file as anything, it doesn’t have to save something as a .txt file. What we’re going to do is create a phony file then ask Windows to find an older version of that file.

5. Go to the folder where the file was when you deleted it. In this example, we will use a file that was accidentally deleted from our desktop.

6. Open Notepad and type a couple of letters in the window that opens up. Next, click up on the top left to bring down the Save As menu:

Photo of Windows Restore menu
Click on Save As.

 

7. Once the next menu comes up, click on the line at the bottom to get to ‘All files’. Like this:

Photo of Windows Restore Menu 2
Make sure that All Files is highlighted.

 

8. We don’t want to save the file we just created as a text file, unless it was a text file that you accidentally deleted, right? Let’s make this file a Word document. We will type in the name and the file type, separated by a period, in the slot. This is what you want to see:

Photo of Windows Restore Menu 3
We used ‘resume.docx’ for this example.

 

9. We saved that file to our desktop as a .docx file, even though it is really a simple .txt file. Here’s how it looks on our desktop, complete with the Word icon:

Photo of Windows Restore Menu 4
Although the file is a text file, Windows thinks it is a Word document.

 

10. The file that you create doesn’t have to be a word or text based file. With Notepad, you can create any type of file that you want. Of course, the file you create isn’t a real version of that file type, it’s just identified or named as that. In other words, if you create a video or photo file, let’s say an ‘.avi’ file, Windows will think it is an .avi file but it won’t be able to open it. We made an .avi file, just to show you that it can be done:

Photo of Windows Restore Menu 5
We told Windows that this is an an .avi video file, even though it isn’t.

Here is how this phony .avi file looks on our desktop:

Photo of Windows Restore 6
We use the VLC player for our videos, hence the icon.

 

11. Now for the trick. If we had deleted that hawaii.avi file, all we have to do to get it back again is right click it and choose ‘Restore previous versions’. Right click the file and you’ll see this:

Photo of Windows Restore Menue 7
We just want one old version but Windows might have a few available.

Depending on how old the file is and how often Windows has created a restore point, you may have a few version of the same file available for restoration. No problem. You can copy any file in the vault to any place on your computer. Once you click ‘Restore previous version’, this menu pops up:

Photo of Windows Restore Menu 8
There is only one version of this particular file available.

In this case, the file hasn’t been changed since August 13, 2012. If it had been changed, there would be several other versions of the same file available. All you’d have to do is to copy the one with the correct date and paste it into any folder on your computer. If you aren’t sure of what the correct date is, copy each file and put each one in a different folder. Remember that you can’t have two files with the same name in the same folder.

 

12. Highlight the file you want. You can open it to see if it’s the right one, copy it to another folder or ‘Restore’ it to the folder where we created the phony file.  In this example, we would choose “Restore’ and Windows would then replace the file we created with the version of that file which was stored in its System Recovery folder.

 

TIP: This procedure will work for files or folders. If you have deleted just about anything, and you have a restore point between the date the file was created and the date you deleted the file, you can get it back…even if you permanently deleted that file.

 

This exercise is relatively simple but it’s worth trying out before you get stuck. Sometimes if you accidentally delete something, you panic. If you’ve run through this demo step by step, there will be no need to panic when things go bad. We hope this helps you someday. Questions and comments are welcome.

Thanks for reading!

 

 

 

 

 

Adjust Default Privacy Settings, Facebook, Fotobounce, PhotoLive

Save Facebook Albums – a new way to do it

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PhotoLive is a new way to download photo albums from Facebook. We’ve used it a few times and it still has some bugs but we thought we’d share our experiences so far. We’ve written about FotoBounce before and it works quite well. PhotoLive, however, was able to retrieve some albums that FotoBounce could not. Here’s how you can use PhotoLive.

TIP: PhotoLive did not work for us when we tried it in Internet Explorer. It worked quite well in Google Chrome but not IE. Again, your mileage may vary.

First, make sure that your bookmarks bar is showing at the top of your browser window. Each browser is different so your settings may vary. We use Chrome and this is how it’s done with it:

Photo of Chrome menu
Top right, Bookmarks then ‘Show bookmark bar’.

 

Head to the PhotoLive Site, then drag the blue bar up to your bookmarks bar. (Click once on it and hold the mouse button down, then drag it up to the bar and release the button.) PhotoLive  doesn’t ask for permissions, unlike Fotobounce. It’s a browser add-on more than a Facebook app.

Photo of PhotoLive home page
Drag the blue box up to your bookmarks bar.

 

Now  your bar should have these words on it:

Photo of Chrome Bookmarks Bar
Look for the words ‘Download Photos’.

Just remember that none of this is going to work unless you are inside your Facebook account. Head over now and log in, if you aren’t already, then go to a photo album that you want to save to your computer. When you get there, click on the Download Photos button that we just put on your booksmarks bar. This is what you’ll see next:

Photo of PhotoLive menu
Click the green button to start the download.

 

Here is where you might run into a problem. PhotoLive can’t function inside of a secure browsing environment. What does that mean? It means that if you have turned on Secure Browsing in your Facebook Privacy settings, PhotoLive won’t work.

You should always have Secure Browsing turned on, however. In this one case, you can turn it off, download the album, then turn it back on again. The error page that comes up when you click Download Photos describes how to turn Secure Browsing off. (Head to your Account Settings, click on the Security badge on the top left side then uncheck the box to the left of ‘Browse Facebook on a secure connection (https) when possible’. Then click on ‘Save Changes’ and you’re done.)

Head back to the album you want, do the same steps as before to save the album and PhotoLive will show you this screen next:

Photo of PhotoLive download screen.
PhotoLive saves the albums in zip files.

 

The zip files will be saved to your normal download folder, usually Downloads. A zip file is a compressed folder. You can read how to unzip them here: How to Zip and Unzip Folders. Once you unzip the file, you can browse the images.

TIP: For some reason, PhotoLive does not download every photo in an album. We’re not sure why that is but you won’t get them all. An alternative to PhotoLive is Fotobounce, mentioned before, which will get every photo if it can get any at all. If you use a combination of both programs, you’ll probably be able to save almost any album that you come across on Facebook.

Now that you’re finished downloading the album, head back to your Facebook Security settings and turn Secure Browsing back on again.

Hopefully, this how-to is crystal clear but if it’s not, let us know. Questions, comments are always welcome.

Thanks for reading! While you’re on Facebook, why not like our page:  https://www.facebook.com/ComputersMadeSimple?ref=hl

 

 

Internet, Keep Safe Online, Security, VPN/VOIP

Changes and Updates – VPN/VOIP and other funny acronyms

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We recently updated our Internet Service Provider (ISP). Worldline set us up with unlimited 6 Meg DSL Internet plus phone plus Canada long-distance service for $50.00 a month. Yes, you read that correctly. If you take the link and decide to sign-up, tell them that Brian Mahoney sent you. We’ll get a discount for that just as you will when you refer people to them. Today was our first day and, touch wood, so far so good. The phone service is crystal clear and the Internet is super fast! We’ll let you know if anything changes over time.

Before you dive into this, we should let you know that your phone won’t work if the power goes off. Everything goes through a Thomson router, both Internet and phone, so if the power is gone, so is your phone. You can get a UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply) and plug the router into it for complete protection but if your electricity goes off for long periods of time, this may not be the option for you.

Secondly, the 911 service cannot locate you as it can with a regular phone. Sure, you can keep your old number, but you have to tell the 911 operator your location. Again, this may not be for everyone. If you have some chronic condition that limits you from speaking in an emergency, stick with your normal landline.

Photo of Worldline Website
Try it if you are in Canada.

In the last month, we’ve also switched to using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) on some of our computers and entertainment consoles. We like to kick back with a movie during downtime and Netflix is our main choice for that. But, since we are in Canada, we are in awe of the superb offerings on the American version of Netflix. In order to connect to the U.S. Netflix, we have to use a VPN which shows us as coming from inside the U.S. instead of from Canada.

This is not illegal, by the way. Once you have a Netflix account, you can access any Netflix offering in any country where they operate. This is convenient if you travel, for instance. If you have a U.S. or Canadian account, you can access Netflix in Brazil, Ireland, Mexico, England as well as in the U.S. and Canada. We pay $5  a month for this service, using a VPN provider right here in Canada.

The process is simple and explained on the provider’s site. You can either set up each computer or entertainment console individually or you can change the settings on your router which feeds out the Internet to all of your various computers/consoles. Each situation is different but they are all explained on the provider’s site. Here’s the link: http://www.unblock-us.com/  In this case, we don’t get any referral fees but it’s only $5 a month anyway.

Photo of Unblock-us website
VPNs can be used to mask where you are really coming from.

Lastly, we are not connected in any way to either of these two companies. With Worldline we get a $5 kickback if you mention Brian’s name and for Unblock-us, we get nothing. But we like to give credit where credit is due and both of these companies provide good service at a very decent price. If any service problems crop up, we’ll let you know.

Thanks for reading!

 

Adjust Default Privacy Settings, Create a List, Facebook, Restricted Friend List

Facebook – Restricted Friend List

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Everyone has some people on Facebook who aren’t really friends. Maybe they are relatives or co-workers but, because of circumstances, you may have to have them on Facebook. Even though they are on your friend list, you probably don’t want to share everything that you post with them. Facebook has a setting for this situation. Here’s how it works.

1. Head to your timeline by clicking your profile image up on the top right of any Facebook page.

2. Click on the box that says Friends. Here’s the box:

Photo of Friend Box
Click the box.

 

3. Once your list comes up, choose any friend that you want to put on the restricted list. Hover over their name and a bigger box pops up. Like this:

Photo of Friend's Info
Don’t click for a while, just hover.

 

4. Again, hover over the word Friends. This box will appear:

Photo of Popdown on Facebook
Different settings are available from this one menu.

 

5. This person isn’t on any list right now but let’s click ‘Add to another list…’ to see what happens. Here’s the next menu:

Photo of Facebook Lists
Down at the bottom, look for Restricted.

 

6. Click on the word ‘Restricted’ and that person is now on the restricted list. Details on what that means in a minute.  For now, head back to any Facebook page and click on the little down  arrow just to the right of Home. Click on Privacy Settings. Like this:

Photo of Privacy Settings on Facebook
Let’s check our privacy settings.

 

7. What we’re doing now is checking to see who is on the restricted list. If you add a few friends to this list, it’s a good idea to check who is on it, right? Here is the page that shows up next. Click on ‘Manage blocking’ down at the bottom right.

Photo of Facebook Privacy Page
Down at the bottom, look for Manage blocking and click there.

 

8. When the blocking page appears, at the top you’ll see a section for your restricted list. There is a short description of what happens when you put a friend on this list. As far as Facebook is concerned, they are not friends since they cannot see anything that you post that is set to ‘Friends only’. However, people on this list will see anything that you post that is public. Additionally, Facebook does not notify your friends that they are on this list. Here is the photo of this menu:

Photo of Facebook Restricted Settings
Read about what the restricted list means.

 

9. Once you are here, you might as well add more friends to this list. Here’s how we do that. Click on Edit List. This box appears:

Photo of Friend on Facebook Restricted List
All of the friends who are on the list are shown here.

 

10. The people who are on the list are shown here. To remove them, click the X that appears when you hover over the person’s photo. If you want to add more people to the list, click on the words ‘On this list’ and the following choices show up:

Photo of Facebook Restricted List
Click on the word Friends.

 

11. Now you will see a page full of all of your friends. Simply click on any friend who you want to add to your Restricted list. You’ll see a check mark to signify that they are now restricted from seeing most of what you post on Facebook.

Photo of Facebook Restricted List 11
Click any profile photo here to add that person to your restricted list.

 

This is a long post, to be sure, but we feel it’s important to do everything in a step-by-step manner. If you still have questions, comment below. We’ll help you out.

 

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