Personally, I'm not that concerned with my data being out there. It would take far too much time and effort to prevent my data from being collected. Basically I'd probably have to quit using the Internet ... which I refuse to do. But I do object and object strongly when one of these data pigs begins to harass me and then refuse to remove my data ... like MyLife did for many months. I finally sent them a long email threatening in detail how I'd take them to court in my state and sue them for invasion of privacy, harassment and other assorted charges, noting that Arizona loves to chop down data hogs with huge awards. At that point they removed all my data and I've not heard from them since.
Whether you want to limit the information on you that's available or aren't concerned with your data available is a personal choice for most of us.
For some of us, having the data available for anyone who wants to pay for it can have a high price. Women are often at risk in cases of domestic violence and stalking (though it's not limited to gender). Having your current personal information (which often contains information about family and friends) available for sale to anyone who wants to pay for it has very real consequences.
Some or most of these companies have policies in place for these types of situations - and you still have to contact each of the data brokers and request your data be removed. That presumes you know your personal data is being collected, can identify which data brokers are collecting it, know how to contact them, and have the time to request removal from all of them.
Having requested removal of my data from several of these services in the course of researching this article I'm having nightmares of the endless CAPTCHA's that would appear trying to remove myself from all of them.
I know someone who has never had a computer, has never been on the internet, and doesn't have a data plan with their cell phone. They exist in public records, and there's a ton of information about them and their family and probable acquaintances on the internet (I checked). I'm just saying that not using the internet will not stop your personal information from being collected. :)
But I've also used Raymond's MD5 & SHA Checksum Utility which has a better interface. But the free version is, from memory, limited to checking files one by one.
Been getting newsletters from Today I Found Out for years and love them...so many fun/interesting tidbits of info, some science, some about animals, some where sayings we use now come from, some background info movies/tv info, etc. Thanx for getting this out rhiannon...
May 4, 2019 - New Firefox immediately fails download for 4.7.1 LasPass as well as any other LastPass. Says it's not a verified Add-on. FireFox IS THE PROBLEM. Will be using EDGE and it's terrible!
The fix for the problem with Firefox extensions is now out and working, see the Mozilla blog here - https://blog.mozilla.org/addons/2019/05/04/update-regarding-add-ons-in-firefox/
I would read the thread and make your own decision whether to install the add-on or wait for Mozilla to roll out a fix for everyone. I'm fine with what the add-on does and the mechanics underlying the changes it makes.YMMV.
And of course, feel free to use Edge or any browser that you choose.
Personally, no browser is perfect, they've all had problems more or less severe over the years.
When Mozilla became aware of what happened they let people know and started on a fix and are keeping people updated.
If you check the article above, please note that I've added a site with directions on using Chrome extensions in Edge, so if there's a favorite Chrome extension you can now use it with Edge.
You can also consider a fork of Firefox such as Waterfox or Pale Moon.
I'm assuming you're talking about the certificate issue with Mozilla that caused all add-ons to be disabled and labeled as Legacy last night and today?
They haven't rolled out a fix yet for everyone, and not everyone is impacted.
I came across an add-on that fixed the issue at Hacker News/ycombinator. As far as I can tell it can be left in place indefinitely. I recommend reading the thread and deciding whether to install it or not. I checked what was being changed and I'm ok with the mechanics of the fix.
I don't have studies enabled, and at this point, current information is saying if you enable studies it could take 6 hours to work unless you change the interval that Firefox checks for updates (every 6 hours).
Hacker News: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19826903
I have been receiving the emails for years. I highly recommend subscribing. If you are too busy to read them all then just delete until you see one where you just can't resist looking. Each article also has related links at the bottom. You will be tempted to follow some on them as well. BTW, the author responded quickly when I had a suggestion/question about the site. rhiannon, I am you got the word out. They deserve the publicity and I think most GF readers will enjoy TIFO.
Hello Rhiannon,
Yours is a voice of common sense on this topic. Thank you.
I'd already put in place the settings you recommend for the web version of Gmail, but Google in its busybody way still sees fit to label some of my messages as "important" in the Android version. I can't seem to find the settings to remove the 'important' label in android - can you advise?
Regards
That's odd, the setting is changed in your Gmail account settings so it shouldn't be showing up on any device you access Gmail from.
Are the labels showing up in other devices you use to access Gmail, like a desktop or laptop?
It's not easy to keep track of which company owns what these days.
Amazon also owns Audible, AbeBooks, Goodreads, Zappos, Woot, Ring, Twitch, the Book Depository that operates out of the UK, and more. List of mergers and acquisitions by Amazon - Wikipedia
It's interesting how many people don't know Instagram and WhatsApp are Facebook products :)
Lightbox.com and Oculus have a smaller user base so it's not surprising most don't know they are Facebook companies. List of mergers and acquisitions by Facebook
what a wonderful software AOMEI Backupper is. It helps me to clone smaller ssd to larger ssd successfully. sometimes, when we use a software for the first time, we may encounter something unexpected. But, i don't encounter any problem and all process goes smoothly.
Thank you for your quick response. By the way, I had drafted a response to yours, but it disappeared as I was about to post it, and I’ve only just had a chance to try again.
To answer your question, I use two devices linked to my main device. The main device is an HP Pavilion Notebook running Windows 10 using the Brave browser. As mentioned, in Gmail on the Pavilion (Brave) I have disabled the “important” label. I tried to paste a screenshot below for you to have a look at in case I’ve got anything wrong, but it doesn't show. (Perhaps your site doesn't permit this?)
I have two devices linked to the HP notebook, an iPad (iOS v9.3.5) and a Samsung Galaxy Note 4 phone running Android 6.0.1. Both these devices show the “important” folder. When I looked at it on the iPad, it tried to load “more than 1000” messages, so I hurriedly closed it!
I love your site and freeware. So, I wanted to see if you would consider having me edit a category. Unfortunately, I ran into a few problems.
On the "Gizmo's Freeware Needs You!" page: https://www.techsupportalert.com/we-need-you.htm it states "What's involved? Just watch the following video:" There was no video.
I found the contact link at the bottom of the page: https://www.techsupportalert.com/content/contact-us.htm It states "Contact' 'Gizmo's Freeware can be contacted using the site contact form."
Clicking the contact form link led to: https://www.techsupportalert.com/contact This was a duplicate of the homepage. There was no contact form.
Please let me know what to do about this. Thank you.
Our system doesn't allow posting of graphics here in the comments.
Have you checked (in a web browser) to make sure that your Gmail account Settings/Labels :"Important" is set to hide, and under Settings/Inbox "No markers" is checked in the Importance markers section and that under the Filtered mail section the "Don't override filters" is checked are still intact? In the categories, do you have anything other than Primary checked?
I ask because when I went to look at mine the setting under Importance markers had been changed so that the "Use my past actions to predict which messages are important" was checked when it had been unchecked for many months.If you use the Gmail web interface it's possible something got changed. I don't access gmail via their web interface often and haven't made changes to my account for a long time, so I'm not sure how the setting got changed. I access gmail via a third party email client on my desktop and via Blue Mail in Android so no I'm nowhere near the Settings.
At the top of Settings/Inbox, what type of Inbox do you have selected? I use Default. If you're using Priority, switch to Default and see if that makes a difference.
Don't forget to Save Changes at the bottom of the page (says the voice of experience).
You can also access the Settings/Labels area via the left side of the Gmail interface Inbox, under the More section, click on Manage labels and you'll get the same section as under Settings.
These settings can't be changed using the Gmail app, it has to be done via the web interface from a browser. I don't know if Brave browser would make a difference but you might want to access Gmail account settings via another browser to make sure they are the same in both. Stranger things have happened.
That's all I can think of at the moment, since the changes are made using a web browser and not the app they should apply across the board to your gmail account. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Why the labels aren't showing up in your Notebook and are showing in mobile is very strange. This is all I can think of at the moment.
This Google support article has more information but the thing that caught my eye is searching for messages marked Important and if there are any, changing the label. Just a thought. ¯\_(シ)_/¯ https://support.google.com/mail/answer/186543?hl=en
I've double checked the settings in Brave and in Chrome, and they are the same in both browsers - and as you specify:
"Important" set to hide
"No markers" checked
"Don't override filters" checked
Categories - only "Primary" checked
Type of inbox: "Default"
I couldn't save any changes because there were none!
So I'm baffled - and just the tiniest bit put out. I've also had another look at my phone and iPad, and every message in the inbox is also in the "Important" box, and a good few I thought were deleted or otherwise labelled. I like to keep my inbox as clean as possible (retaining only current items) and so either delete unwanted messages or label them.
I'll read the Google support article when I get a moment. In the meantime, I appreciate your efforts.
Regards
I seem to recall that when this site last asked members for donations a request was also made that ad blockers be disabled....yet here you are providing instructions on how to block ads elsewhere. I'm not sure how you reconcile doing that.
You are right, we do ask that people whitelist our site (and any other sites they want to support or like).
Not disable their ad blocker, but whitelist the site so ads are viewable on that site only.
The only income this site has is from ads - it's what keeps the lights on.
If enough people block ads on this site, the site will shut down.
I reconcile this by allowing ads that aren't intrusive on most sites and blocking the ones that are intrusive. That allows income to be generated by ads that I don't mind viewing.
In this case, I'm not saying block all the ads on YouTube. I'm providing a way for people to watch the video they came to see, all the way to the end. Maybe I'm off base, but YouTube is a site that hosts videos.
There's a reasonable expectation that visitors can watch videos on YouTube where the pages contain advertising until a video ends. It's not a reasonable expectation for a video that's on a site that hosts videos and shows advertising to have the last roughly 5 to 20 seconds of the video covered up by a different set of ads. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Aside from that aspect, ad blockers cut off an attack vector since malware can be delivered through site advertising.
Even reputable sites that I would whitelist have delivered malware through advertising - look at what happened at Forbes.
To what degree an ad is intrusive seems to me a rather subjective determination dependent on who you ask. Everyone has a different tolerance level in this regard. As for your suggestion that site profitability be used as a metric for determining when and when not to block, the obvious question is how do you draw a line there without it being arbitrary.
We reconcile it the same way people do when they complain about ads and then click on 50 to find the best holiday deal or cheapest toaster. Easy. MC – Site Manager.
Thank you for your response Rhiannan. I rarely use You-Tube so my comment was directed at websites in general. The whole issue of Whitelisting is tricky ground to navigate as both computer users and website owners have valid concerns.
The person who complains about ads is obviously not using a blocker and therefore not having any negative impact on revenue that the website owner might obtain. It's a completely different situation from a website saying "please don't disrupt our ad revenue with a blocker but here is how you can block ads elsewhere to disrupt their revenue.
I agree. There's no good solution that works for all parties. I wish there was.
I whitelist what I can, when I can without allowing ads to chew through limited bandwidth and having to wait 5-10 seconds for sites to load.
High speed internet hasn't made it to where I live, and it's not looking good for arrival anytime soon. Meanwhile, advertising uses more and more bandwidth as ads get bigger and flashier. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Lol yes I think our bottom line is different unless YouTube employees are volunteers who work there because they like to help people and provide a service many find valuable. :)
There is some data about people that measures what types of advertising people are more and less tolerant towards. I'm not sure how accurate the data on the site is but overall it appears reflective of what I see and hear and what I experience, though I'm no expert. https://www.vieodesign.com/blog/new-data-why-people-hate-ads
I don't know that I can draw a line without being arbitrary to one extent or another. Smaller sites like Gizmo's and ghacks I whitelist and I click on ads because it helps the sites continue to function - as advertising models change, these sites are hit hard. They provide a service I consider valuable. The ads are not intrusive and don't use up the limited bandwidth and data caps attached to my internet connection.
Overall, on other sites, I block autoplay across the board. I block pop ups and pop unders. I block most overlays because they prevent me from seeing content unless I take an action. The rest I'm mostly ok with.
Thanks for reminding me to whitelist you (you're one of the good guys) and for the link to Iridium.
It would help if some YouTubers would have some dead time at the end of their videos. Some have the most important or interesting parts right at the end!
Thanks for whitelisting us, it's very much appreciated.
I'm with you about YouTube creators, that's the exact thing that caused me to write the article. :)
It was "Wait! I want to see that! Don't cover it up! I really want to see the end, hmmmm, there's got to be a way to stop those ads from covering up the ending".
I think most websites understand that there is a tolerance threshold that they can't surpass with regards to ads. There is little point in being excessive with ads if the end result will be a decline in traffic. Many years ago I would frequent a website called "Experience Project". That site basically self destructed because it became so intrusive with ads that members simply stopped coming. I've noticed that some websites now fight back against the ad blocking by darkening the page and denying users from looking at content until the ad blocker is de-activated. I find myself using the handy Stylebot addon quite a bit now. It allows users to arrange the page layout to their liking and selectively hide ads or banners as needed. It probably wouldn't appeal to folks who prefer something with a global setting but for web pages that are frequently visited it's ideal.
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The FAQ and readme links both state: Windows 7 and up, as thoroughly updated as possible. Also listed are some requirements for .NET and others should your installation of Flashpoint not work. I see no mention of Mac compatibility. Maybe you could achieve functionality with Linux by installing Windows 7/10 in a VM but because of how this app operates I wouldn’t like to guarantee success. :) MC - Site Manager.
Haven't used my gmail account in years...ever since I found out that Google was like Facebook and tracked you everywhere. Do use Outlook because I can have more than two aliases, which I use for surveys, shopping, petitions, financial, etc. Tried Thunderbird a few years back but got frustrated because I could not transfer all of my aliases,. May just ry it again. Will say that Outlook is not ad-free and wants to charge you 19.95 USD for ad-free email. However, I found that my Ghostery and AdBlock Plus, both free, give me an ad-free mailbox. Also use Cookie Auto Delete to get rid of all those nasty cookies everyone keeps putting on my computer. Thanx rhiannon.
"... Pennywise - cross-platform application to open website or media in a floating window...":
https://github.com/kamranahmedse/pennywise
"... Crow Translate is a simple and lightweight translator programmed in C++ / Qt that allows to translate and speak text using Google, Yandex and Bing translate API...":
https://github.com/crow-translate/crow-translate
"... Drill - desktop file search utility that uses clever crawling instead of indexing...":
https://www.drill.santamorena.me
"... gosearch is an attempt to create the Windows file search tool Everything for Linux 5.1+, written in Go...":
https://github.com/ozeidan/gosearch/
Outlook Mail is ad supported with a premium version.
uBlock Origin hides the ads in the web interface, and Google Chrome won't display ads on the web interface. I think Google has been blocking more ads, I don't have an ad blocker installed in Chrome, but the "looks like your using an ad blocker" message appears. There are minimal extensions on Chrome, I use it for testing so I don't want anything interfering with functioning.
The emails from Microsoft show offers like sign up for Office 365 to get more One Drive space. I don't find it intrusive.
I use this add-on to manage cookies and site information, I like it because it clears data from the site you're currently on. Click the toolbar icon and data for that site is deleted.
Faster then going into the address bar site options. It works in Waterfox as well.
nnn is a full-featured file manager for low-power, low-frequency, resource-limited devices and the regular desktop. It aims to be one of the fastest and most lightweight file managers.
nnn is also a disk usage analyzer, a fuzzy app launcher and a batch file renamer.
It runs on Linux, macOS, Raspberry Pi, BSD, Cygwin, Linux subsystem for Windows and Termux on Android.
Several plugins are available to extend its power. New plugins can be added easily.
nnn works seamlessly with DEs and GUI utilities and can be configured as the default file manager.
If they download JUST the Games themselves (As .SWF Files) ... I play all of my SWF games, on my Mac, with "iSwiff" https://echoone.com/iswiff/ ... which you will want to go get and install, NOW, before Adobe pulls the plug on the format. (Get all 103 GB of games and see which ones "launch" ... I'll bet you'll be busy for a while.)
Linux Users COULD Try out "PlayOnLinux" https://www.playonlinux.com/en to see if Flashpoint works under it. (You probably need the MONO Framework, also.)
For years you've helped Me out, and saved my bacon, with your good suggestions. So, I'm honored that I dragged something in that was useful to YOU, just this once.
But now I'm curious ... what OS are you running? And which of those suggestions was the winner, as far as you were concerned? (I'm on OS X 10.12.6 and "iSwiff" is one of those sweet little 'hidden gems' that I like so much - gotta share that one with my buddies!)
In the future, when you are posting "Windows Only" programs, feel free to add mentions of "Winebottler", and those two "PlayOn ..." Applications: so those of us that are "Windows challenged" might have a shot at using them anyway. This Mac Freeware Category has 3 such choices: https://www.techsupportalert.com/content/best-free-software-mac-os.htm?p...
Mind you, none of those 3 are "perfect" emulators on the Mac (Nor are "Wine" and "PlayOnLinux" perfect emulators on Linux) ... there are going to be SOME programs that just won't work under them. But it sure gives us "Think Different" types a SHOT at getting the program to work for US!
Flashpoint runs a web and proxy server on your computer, changing your computer's proxy settings in order to send web games through our server for the purpose of defeating sitelocks, loading files and playing games. This will redirect web traffic that is not related to Flashpoint through our server while Flashpoint is running. While we do not gather, track or use web data passed through our server, other traffic may be negatively affected or stopped while it runs through our server. If you do not consent to this, do not use Flashpoint. If you use a system proxy on your computer already, we suggest backing up your proxy settings before using Flashpoint. We include the source code to our Redirector program in the Flashpoint FPSoftware/Redirector folder, and the web server is unmodified Apache, PHP and SQLite with a few custom scripts, and you are welcome to browse through them to ensure we aren't using your data for nefarious purposes.
No, I really didn't want all of my web traffic going through their servers ... I would choose something else instead. (I'll Tell.)
Couldn't get it running on "Sierra" using "PlayOnMac" ...
I DID get the Flashpoint 6 Folder INTO the PlayOnMac "C:/" Drive, though. I MIGHT have gotten it to run but I read the "Read Me" first: and decided not to graft another head onto my shoulders ... (we might argue).
Just get the .swf Game Files themselves from the Flashpoint web site and use "iSwiff" https://echoone.com/iswiff/
to play them ... and HOPE that it keeps on using the LAST version Flash Plugin ... forever ...
just as I hope that iSwiff on the Mac does the Same.
(Or I'm gonna miss these games. My Flash Experiences go as far back as "Radiskull and Devil Doll" - from 20 Years Ago ... back when Amazon was still learning to sell books online. Those were Heady days.)
Thank you for that.
I still have the mousepad that amazon sent out to customers as a gift - I think it may have been in their first year or two of business.
Yeah, the thrill of getting carpet bombed with the latest version of AOL Online (2.7) on an 800 KB Dual Sided "Floppy" disk (The first of their kind that weren't ACTUALLY Floppy) ... so that you could move up from a 600 Baud BBS to a "Real" online provider at 14.4K Baud (Dialup, of Course.) ... these Whippersnappers will never know it ... .
(I still vividly remember the Fax-Like buzzing it made as it was "Handshaking" the connection [Think 'R2D2 Cursing' ... ] - It's probably just PTSD from it.)
We've both been online since Jesus was a little boy, Huh?
Eschew all things Google (well, with the possible exception of Google Earth), and use DuckDuckGo as your search engine as it will NOT leverage your search information for monetizing purposes.
You're welcome. I hope you like it. It's easy to use with enough features to be useful for ringtones and other things. I added a note to the article about the program's update notifier. :)
This is a list of the most recently posted comments on the site sorted so that the most recent comments appear first.
You can however sort the list on Article title by clicking on the column heading. To see actual comments click the + sign.
Personally, I'm not that concerned with my data being out there. It would take far too much time and effort to prevent my data from being collected. Basically I'd probably have to quit using the Internet ... which I refuse to do. But I do object and object strongly when one of these data pigs begins to harass me and then refuse to remove my data ... like MyLife did for many months. I finally sent them a long email threatening in detail how I'd take them to court in my state and sue them for invasion of privacy, harassment and other assorted charges, noting that Arizona loves to chop down data hogs with huge awards. At that point they removed all my data and I've not heard from them since.
Whether you want to limit the information on you that's available or aren't concerned with your data available is a personal choice for most of us.
For some of us, having the data available for anyone who wants to pay for it can have a high price. Women are often at risk in cases of domestic violence and stalking (though it's not limited to gender). Having your current personal information (which often contains information about family and friends) available for sale to anyone who wants to pay for it has very real consequences.
Some or most of these companies have policies in place for these types of situations - and you still have to contact each of the data brokers and request your data be removed. That presumes you know your personal data is being collected, can identify which data brokers are collecting it, know how to contact them, and have the time to request removal from all of them.
Having requested removal of my data from several of these services in the course of researching this article I'm having nightmares of the endless CAPTCHA's that would appear trying to remove myself from all of them.
I know someone who has never had a computer, has never been on the internet, and doesn't have a data plan with their cell phone. They exist in public records, and there's a ton of information about them and their family and probable acquaintances on the internet (I checked). I'm just saying that not using the internet will not stop your personal information from being collected. :)
Lol you're welcome, my desktop changes often - it's not unusual for it to change a few times a week unless I find an image I'm really enjoying.
Pretty much the same here. But I meant it. There is something on that picture... interesting perspective
I agree. :)
Just to say that Resolve 16 is now available for free, but it's a 1.5GB download.
Am downloading now and will hopefully report back with experience.
This is great information technical suppoer site, Thank you so much sharing post
https://www.techmen.net/
The latest OS that this program supports is XP!
Yes, it has been superceded by PowerShell File Checksum Integrity Verifier (PsFCIV)
But I've also used Raymond's MD5 & SHA Checksum Utility which has a better interface. But the free version is, from memory, limited to checking files one by one.
You can always check out this free online monitor.. called Monitor The Internet at : https://monitortheinternet.com
Been getting newsletters from Today I Found Out for years and love them...so many fun/interesting tidbits of info, some science, some about animals, some where sayings we use now come from, some background info movies/tv info, etc. Thanx for getting this out rhiannon...
You're welcome. They have such a wide variety of interesting topics.
It seems that WinPatrol is dead.
- No more updates since October 2017
- Certificate of their website is invalid
- No response on e-mails
Better remove this entry...
May 4, 2019 - New Firefox immediately fails download for 4.7.1 LasPass as well as any other LastPass. Says it's not a verified Add-on. FireFox IS THE PROBLEM. Will be using EDGE and it's terrible!
The fix for the problem with Firefox extensions is now out and working, see the Mozilla blog here - https://blog.mozilla.org/addons/2019/05/04/update-regarding-add-ons-in-firefox/
There is an issue with Firefox and a certificate. Not everyone is impacted by the issue and fixes are rolling out.
You can read about it here:
https://blog.mozilla.org/addons/2019/05/04/update-regarding-add-ons-in-f...
or Mozilla's Twitter:
https://twitter.com/firefox
I used this add-on at Hacker News/ycombinator and it worked for me.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19826903
I would read the thread and make your own decision whether to install the add-on or wait for Mozilla to roll out a fix for everyone. I'm fine with what the add-on does and the mechanics underlying the changes it makes.YMMV.
And of course, feel free to use Edge or any browser that you choose.
Personally, no browser is perfect, they've all had problems more or less severe over the years.
When Mozilla became aware of what happened they let people know and started on a fix and are keeping people updated.
If you check the article above, please note that I've added a site with directions on using Chrome extensions in Edge, so if there's a favorite Chrome extension you can now use it with Edge.
You can also consider a fork of Firefox such as Waterfox or Pale Moon.
I'm assuming you're talking about the certificate issue with Mozilla that caused all add-ons to be disabled and labeled as Legacy last night and today?
They haven't rolled out a fix yet for everyone, and not everyone is impacted.
I came across an add-on that fixed the issue at Hacker News/ycombinator. As far as I can tell it can be left in place indefinitely. I recommend reading the thread and deciding whether to install it or not. I checked what was being changed and I'm ok with the mechanics of the fix.
I don't have studies enabled, and at this point, current information is saying if you enable studies it could take 6 hours to work unless you change the interval that Firefox checks for updates (every 6 hours).
Hacker News:
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19826903
If you're interested you can keep an eye on the bug fix page:
https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1549078
I have been receiving the emails for years. I highly recommend subscribing. If you are too busy to read them all then just delete until you see one where you just can't resist looking. Each article also has related links at the bottom. You will be tempted to follow some on them as well. BTW, the author responded quickly when I had a suggestion/question about the site. rhiannon, I am you got the word out. They deserve the publicity and I think most GF readers will enjoy TIFO.
I agree, the newsletters are terrific.
Hello Rhiannon,
Yours is a voice of common sense on this topic. Thank you.
I'd already put in place the settings you recommend for the web version of Gmail, but Google in its busybody way still sees fit to label some of my messages as "important" in the Android version. I can't seem to find the settings to remove the 'important' label in android - can you advise?
Regards
That's odd, the setting is changed in your Gmail account settings so it shouldn't be showing up on any device you access Gmail from.
Are the labels showing up in other devices you use to access Gmail, like a desktop or laptop?
Free version now time limited to 5 mins
I must be getting too old to keep up. Had no idea that IMDB was a Amazon product. Thanks for the post. ed
Thanks!
It's not easy to keep track of which company owns what these days.
Amazon also owns Audible, AbeBooks, Goodreads, Zappos, Woot, Ring, Twitch, the Book Depository that operates out of the UK, and more.
List of mergers and acquisitions by Amazon - Wikipedia
It's interesting how many people don't know Instagram and WhatsApp are Facebook products :)
Lightbox.com and Oculus have a smaller user base so it's not surprising most don't know they are Facebook companies.
List of mergers and acquisitions by Facebook
You're welcome. :)
Thanks for the links. Unfortunately not all available in the UK, due to our draconian restrictions.
what a wonderful software AOMEI Backupper is. It helps me to clone smaller ssd to larger ssd successfully. sometimes, when we use a software for the first time, we may encounter something unexpected. But, i don't encounter any problem and all process goes smoothly.
It is unfortunate. I wish it were different. :(
TIME TO REMOVE THIS. You get only 5 minutes unless you PAY $30.
Hello Rhiannon
Thank you for your quick response. By the way, I had drafted a response to yours, but it disappeared as I was about to post it, and I’ve only just had a chance to try again.
To answer your question, I use two devices linked to my main device. The main device is an HP Pavilion Notebook running Windows 10 using the Brave browser. As mentioned, in Gmail on the Pavilion (Brave) I have disabled the “important” label. I tried to paste a screenshot below for you to have a look at in case I’ve got anything wrong, but it doesn't show. (Perhaps your site doesn't permit this?)
I have two devices linked to the HP notebook, an iPad (iOS v9.3.5) and a Samsung Galaxy Note 4 phone running Android 6.0.1. Both these devices show the “important” folder. When I looked at it on the iPad, it tried to load “more than 1000” messages, so I hurriedly closed it!
I’d appreciate any help you can give.
Hello Gizmo's,
I love your site and freeware. So, I wanted to see if you would consider having me edit a category. Unfortunately, I ran into a few problems.
On the "Gizmo's Freeware Needs You!" page: https://www.techsupportalert.com/we-need-you.htm it states "What's involved? Just watch the following video:" There was no video.
I found the contact link at the bottom of the page: https://www.techsupportalert.com/content/contact-us.htm It states "Contact' 'Gizmo's Freeware can be contacted using the site contact form."
Clicking the contact form link led to: https://www.techsupportalert.com/contact This was a duplicate of the homepage. There was no contact form.
Please let me know what to do about this. Thank you.
Best regards,
Diane
Thanks Bili!
available here
http://www.gnu.org/software/gnubg/
http://files.gnubg.org/media/windows/?C=M;O=D
Our system doesn't allow posting of graphics here in the comments.
Have you checked (in a web browser) to make sure that your Gmail account Settings/Labels :"Important" is set to hide, and under Settings/Inbox "No markers" is checked in the Importance markers section and that under the Filtered mail section the "Don't override filters" is checked are still intact? In the categories, do you have anything other than Primary checked?
I ask because when I went to look at mine the setting under Importance markers had been changed so that the "Use my past actions to predict which messages are important" was checked when it had been unchecked for many months.If you use the Gmail web interface it's possible something got changed. I don't access gmail via their web interface often and haven't made changes to my account for a long time, so I'm not sure how the setting got changed. I access gmail via a third party email client on my desktop and via Blue Mail in Android so no I'm nowhere near the Settings.
At the top of Settings/Inbox, what type of Inbox do you have selected? I use Default. If you're using Priority, switch to Default and see if that makes a difference.
Don't forget to Save Changes at the bottom of the page (says the voice of experience).
You can also access the Settings/Labels area via the left side of the Gmail interface Inbox, under the More section, click on Manage labels and you'll get the same section as under Settings.
These settings can't be changed using the Gmail app, it has to be done via the web interface from a browser. I don't know if Brave browser would make a difference but you might want to access Gmail account settings via another browser to make sure they are the same in both. Stranger things have happened.
That's all I can think of at the moment, since the changes are made using a web browser and not the app they should apply across the board to your gmail account. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Why the labels aren't showing up in your Notebook and are showing in mobile is very strange. This is all I can think of at the moment.
This Google support article has more information but the thing that caught my eye is searching for messages marked Important and if there are any, changing the label. Just a thought. ¯\_(シ)_/¯
https://support.google.com/mail/answer/186543?hl=en
Rhiannon, thank you for that comprehensive reply.
I've double checked the settings in Brave and in Chrome, and they are the same in both browsers - and as you specify:
"Important" set to hide
"No markers" checked
"Don't override filters" checked
Categories - only "Primary" checked
Type of inbox: "Default"
I couldn't save any changes because there were none!
So I'm baffled - and just the tiniest bit put out. I've also had another look at my phone and iPad, and every message in the inbox is also in the "Important" box, and a good few I thought were deleted or otherwise labelled. I like to keep my inbox as clean as possible (retaining only current items) and so either delete unwanted messages or label them.
I'll read the Google support article when I get a moment. In the meantime, I appreciate your efforts.
Regards
I seem to recall that when this site last asked members for donations a request was also made that ad blockers be disabled....yet here you are providing instructions on how to block ads elsewhere. I'm not sure how you reconcile doing that.
Gizmo's ads do nothing to intrude on your use of the website. And it's bottom line is a bit different than YouTube's--wouldn't you think?
You are right, we do ask that people whitelist our site (and any other sites they want to support or like).
Not disable their ad blocker, but whitelist the site so ads are viewable on that site only.
The only income this site has is from ads - it's what keeps the lights on.
If enough people block ads on this site, the site will shut down.
I reconcile this by allowing ads that aren't intrusive on most sites and blocking the ones that are intrusive. That allows income to be generated by ads that I don't mind viewing.
In this case, I'm not saying block all the ads on YouTube. I'm providing a way for people to watch the video they came to see, all the way to the end. Maybe I'm off base, but YouTube is a site that hosts videos.
There's a reasonable expectation that visitors can watch videos on YouTube where the pages contain advertising until a video ends. It's not a reasonable expectation for a video that's on a site that hosts videos and shows advertising to have the last roughly 5 to 20 seconds of the video covered up by a different set of ads. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Aside from that aspect, ad blockers cut off an attack vector since malware can be delivered through site advertising.
Even reputable sites that I would whitelist have delivered malware through advertising - look at what happened at Forbes.
To what degree an ad is intrusive seems to me a rather subjective determination dependent on who you ask. Everyone has a different tolerance level in this regard. As for your suggestion that site profitability be used as a metric for determining when and when not to block, the obvious question is how do you draw a line there without it being arbitrary.
Thank you for your response Rhiannan. I rarely use You-Tube so my comment was directed at websites in general. The whole issue of Whitelisting is tricky ground to navigate as both computer users and website owners have valid concerns.
The person who complains about ads is obviously not using a blocker and therefore not having any negative impact on revenue that the website owner might obtain. It's a completely different situation from a website saying "please don't disrupt our ad revenue with a blocker but here is how you can block ads elsewhere to disrupt their revenue.
I agree. There's no good solution that works for all parties. I wish there was.
I whitelist what I can, when I can without allowing ads to chew through limited bandwidth and having to wait 5-10 seconds for sites to load.
High speed internet hasn't made it to where I live, and it's not looking good for arrival anytime soon. Meanwhile, advertising uses more and more bandwidth as ads get bigger and flashier. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Lol yes I think our bottom line is different unless YouTube employees are volunteers who work there because they like to help people and provide a service many find valuable. :)
There is some data about people that measures what types of advertising people are more and less tolerant towards. I'm not sure how accurate the data on the site is but overall it appears reflective of what I see and hear and what I experience, though I'm no expert.
https://www.vieodesign.com/blog/new-data-why-people-hate-ads
I don't know that I can draw a line without being arbitrary to one extent or another. Smaller sites like Gizmo's and ghacks I whitelist and I click on ads because it helps the sites continue to function - as advertising models change, these sites are hit hard. They provide a service I consider valuable. The ads are not intrusive and don't use up the limited bandwidth and data caps attached to my internet connection.
Overall, on other sites, I block autoplay across the board. I block pop ups and pop unders. I block most overlays because they prevent me from seeing content unless I take an action. The rest I'm mostly ok with.
Good morning all you good people.
I had a stubborn free program. Revo Pro(free for 30 days) did the job.
I suggest https://extendsclass.com/ (Code checkers, Converters, HTTP clients, ...)
Thanks for reminding me to whitelist you (you're one of the good guys) and for the link to Iridium.
It would help if some YouTubers would have some dead time at the end of their videos. Some have the most important or interesting parts right at the end!
Thanks for whitelisting us, it's very much appreciated.
I'm with you about YouTube creators, that's the exact thing that caused me to write the article. :)
It was "Wait! I want to see that! Don't cover it up! I really want to see the end, hmmmm, there's got to be a way to stop those ads from covering up the ending".
I think most websites understand that there is a tolerance threshold that they can't surpass with regards to ads. There is little point in being excessive with ads if the end result will be a decline in traffic. Many years ago I would frequent a website called "Experience Project". That site basically self destructed because it became so intrusive with ads that members simply stopped coming. I've noticed that some websites now fight back against the ad blocking by darkening the page and denying users from looking at content until the ad blocker is de-activated. I find myself using the handy Stylebot addon quite a bit now. It allows users to arrange the page layout to their liking and selectively hide ads or banners as needed. It probably wouldn't appeal to folks who prefer something with a global setting but for web pages that are frequently visited it's ideal.
I wish to show some appreciation to you just for bailing me out of this challenge. Right after browsing through the internet and finding principles which were not beneficial, I believed my life was over. Existing minus the strategies to the difficulties you have fixed through your posting is a crucial case, and the ones that would have badly affected my career if I hadn’t discovered your website. Your know-how and kindness in taking care of the whole lot was helpful. I’m not sure what I would’ve done if I hadn’t encountered such a stuff like this. I can at this moment look ahead to my future. Thank you so much for the skilled and amazing guide. I won’t hesitate to endorse your blog post to anyone who would need recommendations about this matter. google keyword
I'll have a look at Stylebot, it looks interesting. :)
Excellent site for downloading and that's my site: https://getnewzone.blogspot.com/2019/05/download-movavi-photo-editor-58-free.html
Download UR browser in one click for free.
UR Browser: https://technicalsoftwareworld.000webhostapp.com/uc-browser-7-0-185-1002/
Excellent tip! Thank you!
You're welcome. :)
Agreed. One of the most helpful articles ever on TechSupportAlert.com.
They should use torrents for this, especially the MEGA file.
Apparently no one would seed the torrents they put up so they dropped the idea. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Is the Flashpoint tool cross-platform? I couldn't find any info on Mac/Linux compatibility.
I checked the site and their Discord server as I was writing the article. From their Discord server FAQ:
What operating systems do you support? Windows 7 and up.
I didn't find any mention of other operating systems on any of the other channels I looked at.
This is an amazing app, I just installed the iOS version and immediately liked it
i LOVE it! Thank you!
"Best Free PC Cleaner" has not been updated in more than TWO YEARS!
For most people, I would HIGHLY recommend that you remove it,.. and find something else.
PLEASE READ THIS!
https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/stop-using-ccleaner-windows/
I still use it as one of my cleanup tools,... BUT ONLY VERSION 5.25, with it setup to NOT check for updates!!!
Haven't used my gmail account in years...ever since I found out that Google was like Facebook and tracked you everywhere. Do use Outlook because I can have more than two aliases, which I use for surveys, shopping, petitions, financial, etc. Tried Thunderbird a few years back but got frustrated because I could not transfer all of my aliases,. May just ry it again. Will say that Outlook is not ad-free and wants to charge you 19.95 USD for ad-free email. However, I found that my Ghostery and AdBlock Plus, both free, give me an ad-free mailbox. Also use Cookie Auto Delete to get rid of all those nasty cookies everyone keeps putting on my computer. Thanx rhiannon.
Outlook Mail is ad supported with a premium version.
uBlock Origin hides the ads in the web interface, and Google Chrome won't display ads on the web interface. I think Google has been blocking more ads, I don't have an ad blocker installed in Chrome, but the "looks like your using an ad blocker" message appears. There are minimal extensions on Chrome, I use it for testing so I don't want anything interfering with functioning.
The emails from Microsoft show offers like sign up for Office 365 to get more One Drive space. I don't find it intrusive.
I use this add-on to manage cookies and site information, I like it because it clears data from the site you're currently on. Click the toolbar icon and data for that site is deleted.
Faster then going into the address bar site options. It works in Waterfox as well.
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/remove-cookies-button-md/
nnn is a full-featured file manager for low-power, low-frequency, resource-limited devices and the regular desktop. It aims to be one of the fastest and most lightweight file managers.
nnn is also a disk usage analyzer, a fuzzy app launcher and a batch file renamer.
It runs on Linux, macOS, Raspberry Pi, BSD, Cygwin, Linux subsystem for Windows and Termux on Android.
Several plugins are available to extend its power. New plugins can be added easily.
nnn works seamlessly with DEs and GUI utilities and can be configured as the default file manager.
https://github.com/jarun/nnn
Sounds like Mac Users could use either "PlayOnMac" https://www.playonmac.com/en/ or "Winebottler" http://winebottler.kronenberg.org/downloads to try to run this "Windows ONLY" Application.
If they download JUST the Games themselves (As .SWF Files) ... I play all of my SWF games, on my Mac, with "iSwiff" https://echoone.com/iswiff/ ... which you will want to go get and install, NOW, before Adobe pulls the plug on the format. (Get all 103 GB of games and see which ones "launch" ... I'll bet you'll be busy for a while.)
Linux Users COULD Try out "PlayOnLinux" https://www.playonlinux.com/en to see if Flashpoint works under it. (You probably need the MONO Framework, also.)
I hope this Helps!!! C. Mc.
Thank you. :)
For years you've helped Me out, and saved my bacon, with your good suggestions. So, I'm honored that I dragged something in that was useful to YOU, just this once.
But now I'm curious ... what OS are you running? And which of those suggestions was the winner, as far as you were concerned? (I'm on OS X 10.12.6 and "iSwiff" is one of those sweet little 'hidden gems' that I like so much - gotta share that one with my buddies!)
In the future, when you are posting "Windows Only" programs, feel free to add mentions of "Winebottler", and those two "PlayOn ..." Applications: so those of us that are "Windows challenged" might have a shot at using them anyway. This Mac Freeware Category has 3 such choices: https://www.techsupportalert.com/content/best-free-software-mac-os.htm?p...
Mind you, none of those 3 are "perfect" emulators on the Mac (Nor are "Wine" and "PlayOnLinux" perfect emulators on Linux) ... there are going to be SOME programs that just won't work under them. But it sure gives us "Think Different" types a SHOT at getting the program to work for US!
Will give this a try since I have only used APKPure.
I have never used Google Play.
Edit: I just downloaded WhatsApp Messenger 2.19.153.
The apk file is 23.8 MB and yet the site lists the size as 35.7 MB.
I tried to get Flashpoint 6 running with "PlayOnMac". I got as far as the "Read Me" and gave up.
No, I really didn't want all of my web traffic going through their servers ... I would choose something else instead. (I'll Tell.)
Couldn't get it running on "Sierra" using "PlayOnMac" ...
I DID get the Flashpoint 6 Folder INTO the PlayOnMac "C:/" Drive, though. I MIGHT have gotten it to run but I read the "Read Me" first: and decided not to graft another head onto my shoulders ... (we might argue).
Just get the .swf Game Files themselves from the Flashpoint web site and use "iSwiff" https://echoone.com/iswiff/
I would just download all 3,000+ SWF files in one massive folder and use
Swiff Player
https://www.globfx.com/products/swfplayer/
to play them ... and HOPE that it keeps on using the LAST version Flash Plugin ... forever ...
just as I hope that iSwiff on the Mac does the Same.
(Or I'm gonna miss these games. My Flash Experiences go as far back as "Radiskull and Devil Doll" - from 20 Years Ago ... back when Amazon was still learning to sell books online. Those were Heady days.)
Thank you for that.
I still have the mousepad that amazon sent out to customers as a gift - I think it may have been in their first year or two of business.
Yeah, the thrill of getting carpet bombed with the latest version of AOL Online (2.7) on an 800 KB Dual Sided "Floppy" disk (The first of their kind that weren't ACTUALLY Floppy) ... so that you could move up from a 600 Baud BBS to a "Real" online provider at 14.4K Baud (Dialup, of Course.) ... these Whippersnappers will never know it ... .
(I still vividly remember the Fax-Like buzzing it made as it was "Handshaking" the connection [Think 'R2D2 Cursing' ... ] - It's probably just PTSD from it.)
We've both been online since Jesus was a little boy, Huh?
Lol many years....Usenet, Bulletin Boards, IRC, ListServ. Then AOL, GEnie, Prodigy.
R2D2 cursing? Oh I love that. :)
Eschew all things Google (well, with the possible exception of Google Earth), and use DuckDuckGo as your search engine as it will NOT leverage your search information for monetizing purposes.
Thanks for all you've done Rob -- You will be missed!
He's definitely missed. :)
2019
Anniversary Special Offer. Giveaway ends on June 10. Do not miss out.
https://www.winxdvd.com/event/dvd-ripper.htm
Thank you rhiannon. This little program looks like an easy audio editor. I'll try it.
You're welcome. I hope you like it. It's easy to use with enough features to be useful for ringtones and other things. I added a note to the article about the program's update notifier. :)
This site is a constant source of goodie's.
Keep up the good work..... :-)
Smoke me a Kipper.....
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