Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2015 February 21

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February 21

Very short email alias on my own domain

I just noticed (unusual surname yay!) that my full name is still available as a .com domain, and I registered it. Now I want to set up an email in the format j@joeschmoe .com - but is there any reason I shouldn't use such a short alias? 104.156.240.135 (talk) 00:21, 21 February 2015 (UTC)

Once the domain is registered and mail server records have been set up, you can use whatever aliases you wish on that domain. Dbfirs 07:58, 21 February 2015 (UTC)

Abuse filter oddness on another wiki (Wikia wiki, to be specific)

I never do know where the best place to ask this stuff is (it's not strictly Wikipedia-related so help desk is kind of out, there doesn't seem to be a better place I can remember here, and Wikia's help forums tend to go silent when I get all technical (even though there are techies there... maybe because not all Wikia wikis have the filter enabled?) which is why I come here in the first place). Anyway...

There is an abuse filter on a Wikia wiki I admin at that seems to be catching edits... but all of them other than a few confirmed tests I did just after it was made are both not overtly breaking the filter (to my untrained eye) nor is the examining/test tool showing a positive with that filter (it's reading that it's not matching the change even though the filter took actions on the change). So... it's a false positive, but it's also... not? I was wondering if anyone here knew what could be up? The filter is here. Thanks for any help. - Purplewowies (talk) 02:58, 21 February 2015 (UTC)

There is a general MediaWiki help desk at mw:Project:Support desk. Some people ask questions at mw:Extension talk:AbuseFilter but it's not really intended for it and there are often no replies. PrimeHunter (talk) 03:22, 21 February 2015 (UTC)

...I knew there was a place I was forgetting. *bookmarks that in case I need it in the future for any reason* - Purplewowies (talk) 00:23, 22 February 2015 (UTC)

What is the (?:(?: with matching )) doing there? I suspect that if you want to match "(" say for a smiley, you may have to escape it, perhaps with [(]. By the way we cannot see the abuse log without a logon. Graeme Bartlett (talk) 20:48, 21 February 2015 (UTC)

Oh, I didn't know about that logon thing (which perhaps means I may need to bother Wikia's support email, which I was also trying to avoid *sigh*). As for the nested question marks, I exported it from Special:AbuseFilter/285, which also contains that sort of thing. All I did was change the strings it needs to catch and some things that were causing false positives and negatives. A part of me wonders if the two-word strings are throwing it off somehow (though that doesn't account for it catching an edits that included NONE of the strings...). I'm not even sure how to replicate the problem, because I've never had it unexpectedly catch an edit of mine except with a test revert of my revert of an edit it caught (which I was still kind of expecting since it was the last test I did before coming here). Anyway, I suppose with the logon issue, I'll have to look elsewhere, where people are sure to have Wikia accounts (heck, people without accounts can't even try to trip the filter by editing, since anonymous editing is disabled there). Thanks to you and PrimeHunter for offering some help, though. - Purplewowies (talk) 00:23, 22 February 2015 (UTC)

My dads computer. Again.

Here's my beef. He needs a computer for work. Every computer he gets ends up within days crammed full of scareware, malware, fake flash downloads, virus detected pop ups blah blah. The latest PC is Win8.1 with all the latest updates and this still happens. So much for M$ (as usual)

I don't have the time to be constantly killing viruses, investigating browser hijacks, popups, fake virus alerts, fake flash update alerts etc etc. I have a life to lead. What can be done. Is there some sort of automatic system management tool that can just system restore the danm thing after each reboot.

It's not pron he's visiting. Either. Trashy O.S and an older user (65) who is extremely hard to teach (or unwilling to learn) probably a mixture of the two. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.40.118.15 (talk) 12:37, 21 February 2015 (UTC)

If you create an admin account for yourself, and then convert his account from admin to normal user, it will restrict the amount of damage he can do to his PC. Normal users can be given permission to to install Windows updates, and (I would hope) be able to access the Windows 8 store. He can install others programs, but only visible his own account. They won't be able to install themselves as drivers or services, or make themselves available to other users. LongHairedFop (talk) 13:25, 21 February 2015 (UTC)

After (edit conflict)
* ".. system restore the danm thing after each reboot." is possible, but probably not necessary. Some public computers used by many users require you to log in each time will do this, or at least wipe the users personal directory before the next user logs on. This sort of thing was once achieved via a batch file like AUTOEXEC.BAT. Not sure if this still applies to Win 8.1.

• A possible solution may be (as LongHairedFop also suggested) to ensure that they can only log in as a user without Administrator privileges. This might make it less likely for all the crap they're getting to install itself.
• Try installing software such as Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware. It has a free version, and it does work. (In my experience). This can be made to run at pre-set times, and likely (I'm not certain) at boot up if wanted, though it may take some time to do a 'complete' scan of the PC. This could noticeably slow down the boot up of the PC 220 of ^Borg 13:40, 21 February 2015 (UTC)

You might want a different PC (or perhaps two different boot drives on the same PC) for work and for web surfing. This will still allow him to have fun web surfing without making the PC unusable for work. StuRat (talk) 13:52, 21 February 2015 (UTC)

Does he install every piece of cool free software he runs across? My dad brought two successive computers to their knees doing that, despite my repeated advice to stop. He suffered from installoholism. ―Mandruss ☎ 13:56, 21 February 2015 (UTC)

It's hard for the elderly to understand that all those cool sounding links they see, even at trusted sites, lead to downloading crap on their PC that will, at the very least, slow it down. StuRat (talk) 14:15, 21 February 2015 (UTC)

First: The OP did not say his dad was elderly and over the hill - just suggested he is not computer literate. Next: When the OP states he's dad needs a computer for work>>> Why doesn’t his employer provide IT support? Second: what does he need to do on his computer? Linux fulfills most things and when it doesn't, one can run windows in a virtual machine on a Linux host and just wind-back if something very nasty happens. And what's wrong with M$? It provided a lot of employment for people that can fix Microsoft generated issues. Hence the $ sign after "M". OK, the computer illiterate have to pay though the nose to have a working computer but this is the economy stupid. If the world's OS's were all stable as Linux, there would be less job opportunities. See also: Linux remote desktop clients With these, one can fix any of dad's problems without leaving home. --Aspro (talk) 14:39, 21 February 2015 (UTC)

The PC in question is running Windows 8.1, so lets work with that. Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware is a great suggestion for anti-malware, but only part of the solution. The free version requires manual scanning, thus does not provide active protection. You also need an anti-virus application: the free versions of Bitdefender and Panda Security get high reviews.[1] --  Gadget850 ^talk 17:52, 21 February 2015 (UTC)

Why work with just that and leave him and his dad bashing their heads against a brick wall that keeps moving? We are (or some of us are) in the 21st Century.--Aspro (talk) 20:05, 21 February 2015 (UTC)

The OP noted "older user (65) who is extremely hard to teach". For good tech support, you have to understand your user base. Attempting to move to a different OS for such a person is going to be very difficult. No matter how much better Linux might be, at it's heart it does now not work like Windows. --  Gadget850 ^talk 20:34, 21 February 2015 (UTC)

Wash your mouth out with soap Gadget850 and learn a little humility. I happen to be 63 just two years away from 65. I happened to cut my teeth on a PDP-11 and a Leo 111. Just because others did not, doesn't mean that they are over-the-hill. Computers are tools. Can you knap a stone into a tool? Your ancestors could. Could you do calculus without you being being shown how? So why do you expect a sixty-five year old, to suddenly jump into the-deep-end and be an over-night expert? However, I'm glad you pointed out that windows now works a little bit like Linux.--Aspro (talk) 22:24, 21 February 2015 (UTC)

This is getting way off topic. I'm not much younger than you. I try to not make assumptions about users, but my comments are based on the OP's description (notice the quote marks). My first computer was an Altair 8800, first commercial system was a Burroughs D84 then later the HP 1000 and PDP-11/70. And yes, I can knap an arrowhead, fletch an arrow and make a bow (I'm not a good arrowman though). I'm going to pass on calculus though. Linux has mimicked the Mac/Windows interface but deep down it is very different. Check my About page for more. --  Gadget850 ^talk 23:59, 21 February 2015 (UTC)

One way to reduce the damage is to run a virtual machine on top of the underlying PC. When this virtual machine is entirely screwed up, you can just delete it and spin up another copy. Obviously, any files created during the session would be lost - but you can probably extract just those files that are known to be user files (the Desktop, Documents and Pictures folders, for example)...and stand a reasonable chance of ditching most of the malware.

I know people who spin up a new virtual machine at the start of every work session and delete it again at the end! These days, where so much of what we do is stored off in 'the cloud', that's not as inconvenient as it might sound. SteveBaker (talk) 01:49, 22 February 2015 (UTC)

What's wrong with an "elderly 65 year old" visiting "pron" sites? Edison (talk) 01:53, 22 February 2015 (UTC)

Microsoft used to provide Windows SteadyState, but it's discontinued and doesn't work on Windows 7+. This page lists three free third-party tools with similar functionality (I can't vouch for any of them). You might be able to find other options by using SteadyState as a search term. -- BenRG (talk) 04:04, 22 February 2015 (UTC)

I have used Reboot Restore RX (free).[2] This type of application is designed to reboot to a set state every time. Thus any installed application or saved data will be gone on a reboot. I used this where the data was saved to a network drive. I don't see why a cloud drive could not be used: OneDrive, Google Drive or DropBox. The admin is required to do any permanent installs or updates. --  Gadget850 ^talk 08:57, 22 February 2015 (UTC)

Pictures displaying previews on Windows 8

For some odd reason, my pictures aren't showing a preview of the actual image on their icons when they're in folders. They just have a generic Photos icon. How do I remedy this? Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie | ^{Say Shalom!} 2 Adar 5775 20:27, 21 February 2015 (UTC)

If they used to display, but don't now, you might try a reboot, as this is one of the things that gets skipped when resources are running low. StuRat (talk) 06:44, 22 February 2015 (UTC)

This is that same comp that has the dead soundcard and for which I did the factory reset, I'm afraid. It's interfering with the advance or science, dammit! Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie | ^{Say Shalom!} 3 Adar 5775 06:49, 22 February 2015 (UTC)

Try this:[3] --  Gadget850 ^talk 18:13, 22 February 2015 (UTC)