46. Does Icognito Mode make you Anonymous

No it doesn’t.

Whatever the name, Icognito, Private Browsing, InPrivate etc. etc. all this mode does is hide your tracks online. When this mode was first introduced it became known a “Porn Mode” as people used it to visit unsavoury sites without storing the evidence on their PCs.

The usual histories, cookies, and temporary Internet Pages are all deleted as your session ends but that does not make you anonymous whilst online.

Your ISP, sites you visit, your work network, may all log your visit and the pages you have looked at so be aware!

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45. A telephone scam to be aware of

A friend had a telephone call from a gentleman seeking access to his computer to correct security dangers.

It’s been a long time since this has been mentioned, but I think it deserves another outing to ensure that new readers are aware of it, and to remind long-time readers that it’s still going on.

It’s a scam, plain and simple. You receive an unexpected telephone call from someone who claims to be from Microsoft or ‘Windows technical support’. This person explains that they’ve been monitoring your PC and it’s exhibiting all sorts of errors and is infected by a large number of viruses. They may even threaten that your Internet access will be cut off because your PC is in such a mess that it’s a risk to other computer users.

The caller directs you to various areas of Windows where long lists of technical information are stored, telling you that all these items are the ‘errors’ or ‘viruses’ that your PC has silently reported to this mysterious technical support company.

In fact, these lists are quite normal – every Windows user has them – but the caller knows you’ve probably never seen them before and that he can pretend they’re something important and worrying.

When he feels he’s convinced you, the caller asks you to install some software that allows him to take remote control of your PC under the pretence of correcting all these problems. You have to supply payment details for this ‘service’, and then allow the caller to do whatever he wants with your PC.

The key point to remember is that there is no-one – anywhere in the world – monitoring your PC (and doing so without your knowledge would be illegal anyway). The caller doesn’t know who you are, and doesn’t even know whether you have a PC.

Indeed, the caller doesn’t know whether you are, in fact, a PC expert who knows more about computers than the scammer does! We recommend a free security program named Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware.

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44. Does "Log off" do the same as "Shut down" from the Windows menu?

The short answer is: no, it doesn’t. When you choose ‘Shut down’, Windows closes all your programs, shuts itself down and switches off your PC, but when you choose ‘Log off’, Windows continues running and the computer stays on. The one similarity is that all your programs are closed.

So what’s it for? Well, let’s step back to the moment you started your PC. Before you could do anything, you had to 'log in’ to Windows by clicking your username and, perhaps, typing your Windows password. In doing that, you’ve told Windows who you are: you may have set up several different usernames on your PC, and Windows now knows which of these users is at the computer.

Windows now sets up everything the way you like it: your desktop wallpaper, your desktop icons, your sound effects, your volume levels, and so on. When you go to the ‘My Documents’ folder, it shows your documents rather than those belonging to another of your PC’s users, and each program you use will load your personal settings and preferences. As an example of how important that last point is, if you start your email program, you’ll see only your own email messages and it will connect to your own email account to collect your own new messages.

Perhaps you have other usernames set up on your PC, and one of those people would like to use the PC when you’ve finished with it. This is where that ‘Log off’ option is useful: you choose ‘Log off’ and Windows closes your programs and returns you to the ‘Log on’ screen. That other user can now click his username, type his password, and use Windows with everything set up the way he likes it.

The result, then, is that if there’s only one username set up on your PC, there’s rarely any point in using the ‘Log off’ option. Similarly, even if Windows is set up for multiple users, if no-one wants to use the PC after you, you might as well head straight for the ‘Shut down’ option.

Finally, a quick clarification for Windows 8 users. Although I’ve referred to ‘Log off’ above, Windows 8 refers to it as ?Sign out’. Also, rather oddly, that ‘Sign out’ option doesn’t appear in the same place as ‘Shut down’, ‘Restart’ and other related options: to log off, go to the Start screen, click your name in the top-right corner and choose Sign out from the menu.

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