-
stanhutchings
AskWoody PlusAfter 2 days with Dell support, finally pinpointed that the problem arose from the update 2025-02-04 of Win11 24H2. Apparently, the update replaced the Realtek driver with a generic System – Sound – Properties Provider: Microsoft 3/31/2024 ver 10.0.26100.1 Intel Corp; Driver date 4/26/2024; Version: 10.29.0.10898. It should have been the official Realtek-High-Definition-Audio-Driver_VD8XH_WIN_6.0.9700.1_A81. Once I downloaded the Realtek driver .exe file and ran it, the correct driver replaced the generic and my error code 1002 was replaced by the correct operation of Voice Access.
-
stanhutchings
AskWoody PlusI’m surprised no one mentioned my go-to screen capture Irfanview. I’ve used it for years with Windows prt sc and alt-prt sc, pasting the image into Irfanview and editing from there. The help is extensive with FAQs, and sections explaining the various actions available from the toolbar. It’s free, but I usually donate a few dollars with any [infrequent] update.
For the Pixel phones, swiping up from the bottom of the screen reveals Screenshot and Select. Screenshot saves to the Files Screenshots folder on the phone, and can be Shared from there.
-
stanhutchings
AskWoody PlusI don’t know how my email address was handed over to spammers. About a month ago I started getting dozens more spam per day. Gmail puts 99% in the Spam folder and interestingly, they all have colorful icons, GIFs, emoticons, etc. so I can quickly delete them. A small subset of the spam is requests for political contributions. I always check the sender and try to be alert to tip-offs for phishing email.
I’ve suggested to my representatives in Congress that Federal efforts would be greatly appreciated. They treat my suggestions the way I treat their requests for contributions.
-
stanhutchings
AskWoody PlusFebruary 1, 2021 at 11:52 am in reply to: Changing Patch Watch and giving you more information #2339489I’m a 1-computer Win10 2004 Home user. I appreciate the DEFCON report. I will certainly appreciate risk assessment for small, not-too technical users, and would especially appreciate advice if the combination of Microsoft Defender Antivirus and Malwarebytes Premium will protect against the “latest and worst ” of the malware going around (and if not, what to do).
-
stanhutchings
AskWoody PlusI use Gmail only. I forward email from other accounts (Comcast, etc. that give me an account). I see very little spam, and very seldom do I have to label an email as spam. Apparently Gmail has a strong spam filter. I check it monthly or so. If I find a mislabeled email, I add the sender to my Contacts, or just say Not Spam. There were 11 spam emails when I checked, 2 were probably not spam.
My biggest complaint about Gmail is occasional difficulty formatting. Sometimes I have to copy/paste a draft into Google Docs to fix problems or format the way I want.
-
stanhutchings
AskWoody PlusI switched over to Google Drive several years ago. The MS Office products got too big, slow and cumbersome. The files could not be accessed from my phone (except via upload to Drive, convert from MS, and then available in Android’s Google Drive app). I uploaded and converted all my MS Word and Excel files to the Drive format. Now I only use Drive for documents and spreadsheets. I can Share the files privately or publicly, which I find much more convenient than attaching to an email; and the recipients can View, Comment or Edit (at my choice). This means not having to download from email, edit, and then attach and send by email. I understand MS has made improvements in collaborating in Word and Excel, but I haven’t bothered to try. I found I can receive MS formatted files, add to Drive, edit and return in MS format if necessary.
I also found PDFs can be displayed and Commented in Google Chrome. I either read directly or save to Drive. I then use a Shared link to open in a Tab or Window. From Drive they are accessible anywhere I have Internet (or anywhere if I make available offline). The Commented PDFs can be shared privately or publicly.
For me, Google Drive is the perfect replacement for Microsoft Office.
-
stanhutchings
AskWoody PlusThis was a very useful article. I use Google Drive instead of Windows Office, and any information about how to use Drive and its associated apps would be very welcome. I use Google Photos (and Albums) for all my photos and videos now. I find Albums are convenient to use as “folders”, for keeping groups of the best photos and videos of a subject, event or whatever, together.
I’ve enjoyed Lincoln Specter’s articles for many years. He writes informatively and well.
Regards, Stan
-
stanhutchings
AskWoody Plusmany of the [do you know…] notices I get from FB are because some of my Friends have that person as a Friend. If you have numerous friends, the Six Degrees of Separation means you could potentially be linked to every FB user. I usually don’t follow friends of friends, so I just ignore the list. There do seem to be a large number of random people I never heard of. Presumably they saw one of my comments or likes, and tried to open a dialogue with me. I ignore them. Every once in a while I scan it, and very occasionally will find someone I’d like to contact. I do NOT get email notifications; turned that off long ago.
-
stanhutchings
AskWoody PlusPersonally, I find Google Drive’s Docs and Sheets to be a stripped down Word and Excel. Much fewer bells and whistles, but all the basic functionality I need. Plus, Docs and Sheets can be Shared and worked viewed, commented or edited by others if you give permissions. And 1 Doc is synced over all devices, because it’s the same document. Versions are kept. It will import and save docx, xlsx, doc, xls and other formats. I love Google Drive.
-
stanhutchings
AskWoody PlusI’m looking forward to more Linux articles and information. Been a Windows Secrets subscriber (Lifetime), but lately found the excess Win8 and Win10 irrelevant. I’m not going past Win7. That said, I HAD WinVista on an older Dell 2GB RAM, but it got REALLY slow. Any time I wanted to do something, there was a slow boot, then 30-60 minute delay while things updated, virus checks, slow loading. Then frequent freezes while stuff happened in the background. No viruses, apparently just bloated OS. Totally fed up, installed Linux Mint, and now boot in less than a minute, fast response, no freezes, updates in minutes, fast shut down. Quite a different user experience from Windows! So MORE info on Linux apps, especially equivalent to the Windows apps, especially admin/system type, would be welcome and useful (I’ve found many, would like to see more).
-
stanhutchings
AskWoody Plus… I think we should ask our representatives in Congress to use the NSA to identify and block all the purveyors of viruses/malware/ID theft/ransomware/etc. And for our representatives to task the FBI and CIA to putting an end to their nefarious activities by whatever means necessary. I already have asked my representatives (Feinstein, Boxer and Eshoo) to do just that:
“First, Congress should pass legislation making illegal and subject to prosecution, fines, punitive damages, and prison, practices such as identity theft, using the Internet and/or phone system to foist malware, viruses, adware, ransomeware and other digital abuses to phone and computer users.
You should add to the NSA’s mandate, to identify, locate and track these cybercriminals, whether domestic or foreign; and if possible, shut them down.
Then mandate the FBI to vigorously investigate, and prosecute the perpetrators with stiff fines and lengthy prison sentences.
Cybercrime is a growing source of revenue to criminals, and Congress must pass legislation to make it unprofitable and risky.
Best regards,”
I encourage everyone to copy/paste my message, or create your own, so Congress gets the message that cybercrime is out of control and needs to be harshly dealt with. -
stanhutchings
AskWoody PlusI use Freemake Video Converter. It rotates videos, allows combining multiple videos, and will import and save many different formats and resolutions. Just be careful not to get an additional program you don’t want or need on setup. My current favorite techniques are: select and import the videos to be combined, arrange in desired order, edit each one, convert to desired format/resolution (I use MPEG 1280×720, which works well on iPhone 4/5, Canon PowerShot SD870, and Samsung HMX Q20video), use option to Join Files and Fade between scenes.
-
stanhutchings
AskWoody PlusI find I’m satisfied with Google Doc, Spreadsheet and Presentation. They are basic, and lack many of the “bells and whistles” but will open .docx and other newer formats (usually any fancy formatting is lost, thought the basic information is there).
Just depends on how much you need, how much patience learning the new “ropes”, and how much you can afford. If I needed more capability, I’d use LibreOffice in Linux. -
stanhutchings
AskWoody PlusSometimes (Vista and Win7 in particular) you have to take the Headphone output and input to Mic/Line In. A splitter is useful to plug in headphones or external speakers to hear the audio if you want to edit.
-
stanhutchings
AskWoody PlusI’ve used Google’s Gmail for years, and it has served me well. Its spam filter is quite good, and although it has evolved since I started using it, the evolution has been for the best overall. I have email forwarded to it from other accounts, so everything shows up in the same place, but filters identify the source account. Filters also pre-categorize email to label (allows archiving to a “folder”). Contact’s info can be pretty extensive, and if exported to a spreadsheet, consists of many columns. Allows text formatting, file attachments, photos, and other features.
![]() |
Patch reliability is unclear. Unless you have an immediate, pressing need to install a specific patch, don't do it. |
SIGN IN | Not a member? | REGISTER | PLUS MEMBERSHIP |

Plus Membership
Donations from Plus members keep this site going. You can identify the people who support AskWoody by the Plus badge on their avatars.
AskWoody Plus members not only get access to all of the contents of this site -- including Susan Bradley's frequently updated Patch Watch listing -- they also receive weekly AskWoody Plus Newsletters (formerly Windows Secrets Newsletter) and AskWoody Plus Alerts, emails when there are important breaking developments.
Get Plus!
Welcome to our unique respite from the madness.
It's easy to post questions about Windows 11, Windows 10, Win8.1, Win7, Surface, Office, or browse through our Forums. Post anonymously or register for greater privileges. Keep it civil, please: Decorous Lounge rules strictly enforced. Questions? Contact Customer Support.
Search Newsletters
Search Forums
View the Forum
Search for Topics
Recent Topics
-
CISA warns of hackers targeting critical oil infrastructure
by
Nibbled To Death By Ducks
5 hours, 30 minutes ago -
AI slop
by
Susan Bradley
4 hours, 40 minutes ago -
Chrome : Using AI with Enhanced Protection mode
by
Alex5723
6 hours, 46 minutes ago -
Two blank icons
by
CR2
13 hours, 16 minutes ago -
Documents, Pictures, Desktop on OneDrive in Windows 11
by
ThePhoenix
15 hours, 40 minutes ago -
End of 10
by
Alex5723
18 hours, 21 minutes ago -
End Of 10 : Move to Linux
by
Alex5723
18 hours, 50 minutes ago -
Single account cannot access printer’s automatic duplex functionality
by
Bruce
15 hours, 19 minutes ago -
test post
by
gtd12345
1 day ago -
Privacy and the Real ID
by
Susan Bradley
14 hours, 29 minutes ago -
MS-DEFCON 2: Deferring that upgrade
by
Susan Bradley
6 hours, 35 minutes ago -
Cant log on to oldergeeks.Com
by
WSJonharnew
1 day, 4 hours ago -
Upgrading from Win 10
by
WSjcgc50
6 hours, 5 minutes ago -
USB webcam / microphone missing after KB5050009 update
by
WSlloydkuhnle
23 hours, 49 minutes ago -
TeleMessage, a modified Signal clone used by US government has been hacked
by
Alex5723
1 day, 20 hours ago -
The story of Windows Longhorn
by
Cybertooth
1 day, 8 hours ago -
Red x next to folder on OneDrive iPadOS
by
dmt_3904
1 day, 22 hours ago -
Are manuals extinct?
by
Susan Bradley
9 hours, 49 minutes ago -
Canonical ditching Sudo for Rust Sudo -rs starting with Ubuntu
by
Alex5723
2 days, 7 hours ago -
Network Issue
by
Casey H
1 day, 18 hours ago -
Fedora Linux is now an official WSL distro
by
Alex5723
2 days, 19 hours ago -
May 2025 Office non-Security updates
by
PKCano
2 days, 19 hours ago -
Windows 10 filehistory including onedrive folder
by
Steve Bondy
2 days, 21 hours ago -
pages print on restart (Win 11 23H2)
by
cyraxote
1 day, 22 hours ago -
Windows 11 Insider Preview build 26200.5581 released to DEV
by
joep517
3 days ago -
Windows 11 Insider Preview build 26120.3950 (24H2) released to BETA
by
joep517
3 days ago -
Proton to drop prices after ruling against “Apple tax”
by
Cybertooth
3 days, 7 hours ago -
24H2 Installer – don’t see Option for non destructive install
by
JP
1 hour, 5 minutes ago -
Asking Again here (New User and Fast change only backups)
by
thymej
3 days, 18 hours ago -
How much I spent on the Mac mini
by
Will Fastie
1 day, 2 hours ago
Recent blog posts
Key Links
Want to Advertise in the free newsletter? How about a gift subscription in honor of a birthday? Send an email to sb@askwoody.com to ask how.
Mastodon profile for DefConPatch
Mastodon profile for AskWoody
Home • About • FAQ • Posts & Privacy • Forums • My Account
Register • Free Newsletter • Plus Membership • Gift Certificates • MS-DEFCON Alerts
Copyright ©2004-2025 by AskWoody Tech LLC. All Rights Reserved.