What browsers are you using?

[Rajesh Sethi]

We have way passed the point of being suspicious of each other's activities.

I don't want my browser show me her preference, you know what I mean.

In a way having customized browser simplify things, like I get my passwords and bookmarks in all the computers when I want.

 

[alp]

I wish I didn't have to keep tab on my son!

 

[Colin]

Hi,

Absolutely no problems with Chrome so far alp; loads easily and easy to use; it does all I ever want and does so rapidly on Win10. When I read about your difficulties I thought you were still on steam?

Our ISP is Virgin Media and I've just checked; we are currently running at 70Mbps but I've just accepted a free (?) upgrade to 100 Mbps. Nothing is free; our Virgin Media bill increased a short while ago but I'm not moaning because I use the computer a lot and we watch lots of unlimited YouTube movies and music videos. I'm using the computer whilst Bron is watching YouTube music videos through a pair of TP-LINKS.


Colin,
your faster fibre is ready to go!
Good news travels fast. (At up to 100Mbps, in fact.)


We're ready to upgrade your Virgin Fibre speed from up to 70Mbps to up to 100Mbps - all for no extra charge. You just have to let us know you want the speed upgrade and we'll start the work on delivering it.

Get Started!
Go back to My Virgin Media.

I wonder if I'll notice the speed increase because it already loads in a blink? I bought my first computer about 19 years ago costing £1,000 but with £100 discount for cash from PC World who wanted to charge me an extra £240 for three years insurance; I refused to pay this and the salesman even brought the manager to bring pressure on me so I said either take the £900 cash without the insurance or I'm out of here; I think the HDD capacity at the time was a huge 8 gig? It probably takes 8 gig these days just to load Win10. I started off on dial up at 1p per minute and the speed I think was 1 Mbps?

How times have changed; this computer I'm using cost around £325 through eBay and is a fast gaming computer with big capacity.

Chrome works for me so I'll not be changing anytime soon.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[alp]

I bought a used JVC (ex-display was another ruse) and £370 and was asked to take out an extended warranty. I said yes. After paying the first month, I thought I was too stupid to pay extra for that TV. So I cancelled the DD and saved myself more than £90. Sometimes when you buy insurance, they ask you if you need legal advice, emergency plumber .. and what not. In the end, I said no to everything else. It's like the day you buy a fridge, they ask you to buy extended warranty, which was heartless thing to do. As all new machines should come with 1 or 2 years warranty. Why ask a customer to buy an extended warranty the day he/she buys it new?

I think my ISP is MANAGING my speed and any way, after numerous complaints attempts, with the last one from Which? speedtest and complaint letter, someone from the CEO office phoned up and said she would reset my line, whatever it means.. So now, I disappear more often to watch TV on the TV set at night and trim my photos to 15 or 18 inches 96 dpi as I have found out everybody else pays more than me! LOL!

 

[Sheal]

When I changed to Windows 10 I had nothing but problems with IE, Chrome and Firefox so decided to go completely 'Microsoft', using Edge, Bing and Defender with no issues at all. I worked on the fact that they are produced specifically by Microsoft so should be completely compatible, and they are.

 

[DirtMechanic]

I use edge to load chrome, but come here mainly on the Android Chrome application.

 

[alp]

@Sheal

I really like the look of e, very modern and clean, but the uploading time is so slow compared with Chrome. Chrome posed quite a few issues for me, for example, the browser disappeared on opening..

When I first used e, I was very frustrated. When I keyed in Halifax, the searched result took me to the history of the town Halifax in the States... Now I think there is a choice of search engines.. I so want to give other browsers a chance, I every morning, I start with Chrome, involuntarily!

 

[alp]

@Colin I read that you bought something from J Parkers and I have found their website unusable. Every time I clicked, a big apron of extension or sub-menus prop out, and straightaway, there are 3 horizontal bands across the page. I literally couldn't click on the item that I want to order .. Any similar experience? What browser do you use for this please?

You see what I mean?

And when I tried to click, this was what I got!

So I never got to see the item!

 

[Colin]

Hi,

You've certainly had your problems recently alp with the computer; I hope you can get everything sorted out; i just take mine for granted.

When I tried changing to Win10 Sheal it drove me mad; for months I received annoying update messages pushing me onto Win10 when in fact I liked Win7. Anyway I relented; I keep my computer clean by constantly backing up to an external SSD; memory sticks and an HDD in a docking station so it didn't take long to wipe my computer and start from scratch; I installed a clean Win7 then let the Win10 install; all went well and I thought that wasn't too bad after all it taking about three hours.

I switched everything off but the next time I switched on I was thrown out of my own computer by incorrect password? I tried and tried but no way could I get in my computer was locked and I hadn't a clue why?

Another three hours later I had my computer back but this time I posted on a forum my experience asking for advice.

I've owned a computer (Desktop) for at least 18 years and never had a logging in problem; why the designers of Win10 decided to turn my Num Lock off by default beats me; my password contains numbers and I never ever suspected the Num Lock would be turned off after all I've never had to turn it on previously and it was the Num Lock blocking me from logging on; very simple of course once the solution is known but it completely threw me and I was most annoyed and frustrated; even now I get caught out if I forget to enable Num Lock; I know there are many instructions on the web as to how to engage Num Lock by default but why should I have to go to this trouble?

I've not previously heard of "Edge" Sheal but I have tried Bing in fact I couldn't get rid of Bing at first and I didn't want it; I do like Chrome though which suits me; I tried Firefox at one point years ago but once I switched to Chrome I felt at home and comfortable but I think it's a case of selecting which suits best? Windows Defender is brilliant. When a new computer is bought it usually comes with security; I once set up a new computer for a friend and I think "Norton" security was supplied which I activated proving a huge mistake; it took over the computer. I ran with Virgin Media security for years until Virgin decided to dump it and replaced it with security costing I think something like £30 per year so I too dumped it.

I take online security very seriously indeed and for a few years used Cyber Scrub;

http://www.toptenreviews.com/software/privacy/best-privacy-software/cyber-scrub-review/

When data and files are deleted from a computer one would automatically think they were completely erased but far from it the information is merely hidden remaining on the computer where anyone with a cheap program can access it; I was very alarmed when I read through Cyber Scrub details.

I can go Incognito free of charge;

You’ve gone incognito
Now you can browse privately, and other people who use this device won’t see your activity. However, downloads and bookmarks will be saved. Learn more



Chrome won’t save the following information:

• Your browsing history
• Cookies and site data
• Information entered in forms

Your activity might still be visible to:

• Websites you visit
• Your employer or school
• Your internet service provider

https://support.google.com/chrome/a...36459889285959754-1241025086&p=incognito&rd=1

Yes I'm still a chatterbox but it's better than being stuck in front of the TV watching some overpaid guy kick a ball around.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[Colin]

Hi,

Sorry alp; I was busy posting unaware you had replied with a question.

I use Chrome full time. All I need to do is to tap "J" into the browser and J Parker's link appears which I simply click on and it takes me straight into J Parker's website or I can quick access from a box on the New Tab page.

On my Google New Tab page I have eight boxes as seen above; "Hi from Colin" is my forum quick access and "JP Buy evergreen" is my quick access to Parker's.

http://www.jparkers.co.uk/six-evergreen-shrubs-1001831c

Because I've used Parker's shrub page a lot it's saved and pops up as soon as I visit Parker's.

I'm no computer whizz kid alp just learning on a need to know basis; good luck with yours.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

Chrome. It's good for everything except watching HD videos on Youtube.
Edge doesn't work for me, longest loading times ever.

 

[Sheal]

To be honest @alp I think your computer has something operating in the background that is blocking the proper functioning of your computer. It may be a good idea to seek a recommended computer professional to sort out your problems.

When I tried changing to Win10 Sheal it drove me mad; for months I received annoying update messages pushing me onto Win10 when in fact I liked Win7.

This was perhaps during the time when Windows 10 was first introduced @Colin. The reminders were given because it was being offered free at the time and there was a deadline for when that finished. I loaded W10 about halfway through that time and yes, there were still many updates/changes to the set up going on, many of which were frustrating. On the whole W10 is now functioning trouble free and the only problems I come across are when there are huge updates by Microsoft, these tend to reset some of my personal settings to the original set up. This week I waited over five hours for a Feature update to finish and that has messed up my personal photograph settings so that I can't move my pictures into folders after loading them from my camera. This is the second maybe third time this has happened and right now my old brain can't remember how to put it right. I'm waiting on my son to get back to me to help out.

When data and files are deleted from a computer one would automatically think they were completely erased but far from it the information is merely hidden remaining on the computer

Everything on your computer is stored in the hard drive, whether you delete it or not. The only way to get rid of it is to remove the hard drive when your computer has died and smash it up.... and it takes some doing even with a hammer. I wouldn't pass on or dump any computer without first removing it. If at any time your computer does breakdown and you have to replace it, take the hard drive from your old one and keep it. Anything you think you may have lost can be retrieved from that for your new computer.

Did you know that computers aren't the only machines that store your information? Printers, photo copiers, scanners etc. all store personal info on a hard drive that you can't delete. We have to think about that when using equipment other than our own. This goes for all those machines used in offices, hospitals etc. and when these particular machines are no longer needed they are dumped without removing the hard drives. Scary!

 

[alp]

@Sheal My son says the exact thing. He said there's a man operating in my laptop. I played the lottery. When I went to click withdraw money, the £2.90 disappeared. Literally couldn't get it out. This was whilst I was using Chrome. Son kept saying there's a man controlling my laptop. I wonder if it's the R or K ..an pinching my £2.90.

Crikey.. thank you for the tip and advice.

 

[Colin]

Hi,

Chrome. It's good for everything except watching HD videos on Youtube.
Edge doesn't work for me, longest loading times ever.

Thanks JBtheExplorer I think you've solved a puzzle for me; Bron and I have wondered many times why some movies were crystal clear but others extremely poor quality whilst we watched them on TV hooked up to the computer; we thought it was our smart DVD player at fault? Another problem with a number of movies is the screen size they being small rectangles only; fortunately on YouTube the choice of viewing is so vast we can ignore the ones which don't suit our setup. We've just watched an episode of Robin Hood (Richard Greene) during breakfast; we stopped watching the TV news ages ago because it's always so depressing and a very poor start to any day.

I do appreciate what was happening Sheal when Win10 first appeared and obviously there would be many teething problems until it settled down; I just found it so annoying that every time I wanted to use my computer I was pestered to switch to Win10; I had just bought a new computer and paid something like £70 for Win7 and I couldn't but wonder if I upgraded to Win10 then a year later would another O/S appear; this of course is progress and electronics move on at a blistering pace; what's new today in electronics could be obsolete in a month; mobile phones spring to mind; how many queue round the block for the latest must have mobile phone. I did have lots of initial problems with Win10 but now I'm happy with it and it's reliable; I'd like Num Lock to be ON by default but I don't like messing around with my computer when it's running OK.

I always retain the hard drive Sheal when I dispose of a computer in fact I scavenge anything which might be of use such as the power supply and the tower which is useful as a source of sheet metal.

http://www.simsrecycling.com/Servic...WVCPiB2Nv-CJaCS7QIUHomXVeNENtXhIaAvOGEALw_wcB

Trying to destroy an hard drive at home as you say Sheal is virtually impossible regarding erasing stored data; even burning the drive isn't always effective; physically damaging the drive will obviously prevent the drive working but the data still remains. As I previously stated I used to use Cyberscrub to sanitize my drives; it's very difficult these days to be anonymous because by now big brother probably knows us better than we know ourselves.

Below is a picture of what a computer tower wasn't designed for but it's something I dreamt up and is very useful indeed for use in pointing paving flags; the mortar tray is one side of the tower with a turned up lip of about 18mm and another lip turned down this being only 3mm; in use the 3mm lip is hooked over the slab edge allowing the mortar to be pushed off the tray into the joint; when the joint is filled the tray is moved along allowing the newly filled joint to be levelled; this saves massive amounts of time and backache whilst being neat; I dream up lots of these ideas to make my life easier; a number of friends now use a similar tray. When the tray picture was taken I was installing flood defences to the rear of the bungalow; we had old fashioned open drains which collected nothing but leaves and debris their being two of these and the old clay pipes I replaced with plastic; I installed a drain channel so any water running from our steep garden would hit the channel and be diverted to the side of the bungalow where it could be discharged safely; the problem was a failed mortar joint between bungalow wall and foundation; I bedded in a row of engineering bricks after firstly making good the joint; this was a big job but one I only ever wanted to do once; our drains were a total disgrace; one of the underground joints was stuffed with plastic shopping bags and an elbow was broken; I had to break through 19" thick concrete inside the extension to reach the damage; water kept appearing on our driveway which I thought to be rainwater seeping through until I did a dye test to find it was raw sewage; so much for professional builders? I did away with the open hoppers as seen in the pictures by running the small diameter pipes into the larger pipes through a modified pipe cap; this is another of my ideas which works a treat and no debris can get in; inside the bungalow the drain is fitted with an automatic air vent so nothing backs up.

I'm rambling as usual but today I plan to do a bit of digging up the mountain; work on the garden is progressing well.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[Sheal]

Have you ever thought of trying to market some of your inventions @Colin, you obviously have some ingenious ideas that work well.

That certainly looks like a job and a half you had with the piping. I presume you can see very little of it now?