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How to stop those annoying website notification requests

Most internet developments have improved our surfing experience and made using the web faster and easier. One that isn’t going down quite so well is the website notification. You know, those messages that websites like to show asking you to let them show you notifications. If you’re anything like me, you’re going to want to turn those off. Here’s how to stop those annoying website notification requests.

What are notifications?

You may have seen the popups in webpages but do you know exactly what they are asking for? Notifications are the little popup messages in Windows 10 that show calendar entries, email arrival and other things you have configured it to show. They are often referred to as ‘push notifications’ because they are pushed to your device from somewhere else.

The idea of adding a notification is so the website can alert you via the operating system when they add new content, someone responds to your comment or other interaction, depending on the website in question.

Some of you might appreciate these kinds of notifications. They certainly do have value if you participate in debates, follow news stories or just like to interact. However, if you use your device for productivity, seeing notifications every few minutes for something can be a real distraction. Plus, being asked every time you land on a website is a pain in itself. Here’s how to stop them.

Stop website notification requests in Chrome

To stop website notification requests in Chrome, just follow these simple steps.

  1. Open Chrome and select the three dot menu icon in the top right.
  2. Select Settings and Show advanced settings.
  3. Navigate to Privacy and Content settings.
  4. Navigate to Notifications and make a selection.

Selecting ‘Allow sites to show all…’ will do exactly that. Selecting ‘Ask when a site wants to show a notification’ will tell Chrome to send a prompt every time a website wants to push a notification. Selecting ‘Do not allow…’ turns all notification requests off.

If you want to strike a happy medium, you can allow some sites to send notifications while blocking all others. Select Manage exceptions and add the URL of the site(s) you don’t mind receiving notifications from while blocking all others.

If you want fast access to the preference settings in Chrome, you can just type ‘chrome://settings’ into the URL bar and it will take you to a slightly different screen that allows you to control many aspects of the browser.

Stop website notification requests in Firefox

Blocking website notification requests in Firefox is similar to Chrome.

  1. Open Firefox and select the three line menu icon.
  2. Select Preferences and then Content.
  3. Select the checkbox next to Do not disturb me n Notifications to turn them all off.
  4. Otherwise, leave the checkbox blank and select the Choose button to select the URLs you want to allow and ones you want to disallow.

Setting Firefox to block all, allow all or allow some is down to personal preference.

Like Chrome, you can access part of the Firefox Preferences section by typing ‘about:preferences.’ into the URL bar. This will allow you to toggle a bunch of settings on or off.

Stop website notification requests in Safari

Like the other browsers here, you can block notifications in Safari too. The same as in Windows, making changes here stops websites pushing to Mac’s Notification Center.

  1. Select the Safari menu and Preferences.
  2. Select the Notifications tab.
  3. Select Allow websites to ask permission to send push notifications to stop all websites annoying you. Check the box to block, uncheck to allow.
  4. Optionally, work through the list in the next window checking either the Allow or Deny box next to each website.
  5. You can also select Remove to revoke permission or Remove all to stop any website sending notifications. If you use this function, you will be prompted again the next time you visit the site.

As far as I know, Safari doesn’t allow quick access to Preferences with a URL shortcut. Instead, there is a keyboard shortcut of Command +, (comma) that sends you directly to the menu.

Stop website notification requests in Opera

Opera works very similarly to both Chrome and Firefox so blocking notifications is almost the same process.

  1. Open Opera and select the menu icon to access Preferences.
  2. Select Notifications and select an option. Allow sites to show notifications, Ask me… and Do not allow any site to show desktop notifications.
  3. Select Manage Exceptions to add specific websites you want to receive notifications from.

Opera also allows quick access to Preferences if you type ‘opera://settings.’ Into the URL bar. Like Chrome and Firefox, here you can change all sorts of things.

Stop website notification requests in Edge

Finally, Microsoft Edge. The bad news is that while Edge supports push notifications, it doesn’t yet allow you to block them. It is a feature apparently coming later this year. Internet Explorer doesn’t work with notifications so you shouldn’t get them in the browser anyway.

Stop website notification requests

All websites will usually default to allowing all websites to display notifications on the desktop. While this is fine for many users, it isn’t so great for those who want to get on with their work or who don’t want to see a notification every time someone adds something to Facebook.

At least now you know how to stop this happening in your browser, unless you use Microsoft Edge of course. They will get around to adding the feature eventually. It’s a shame they are so behind the curve here as it’s just another reason to not use the browser.

Push notifications might work for you and can certainly offer certain benefits depending on how you use your device. I find notifications on my smartphone incredibly annoying while on my work machine, mostly annoying, especially when I’m troubleshooting a client app or working on a complex problem. Your mileage may vary of course, but it is a setting well worth trying!

How to fix ‘This App Has Been Blocked For Your Protection’ in Windows 10

how-to-fix-this-app-has-been-blocked-for-your-protection-in-windows-10

If you’re seeing the message ‘This App Has Been Blocked For Your Protection’, it means you are trying to do something Windows doesn’t want you to do. The message is part of SmartScreen, a feature of User Account Control (UAC) within Windows 10. It is an essential protection designed to keep core Windows files safe.

That’s not to say it doesn’t get things wrong sometimes because it does. Occasionally, even attempting to install a seemingly benign app can trigger this message.

Fix ‘This App Has Been Blocked For Your Protection’ in Windows 10

Before we go turning any system protection off though, it’s useful to remember that as much as it might get in the way or annoy you, it is there for your protection. Windows tries to protect its integrity as much as possible so it can keep working. While an app may seem harmless, it may contain something that causes problems with your machine. Disabling SmartScreen is simple, but should only be done if you’re confident of the app you’re installing.

  1. Right click on the Windows Start button and select Control Panel.
  2. Select System and Security and then Security and Maintenance.
  3. Click Change Windows SmartScreen settings in the left pane.
  4. Select Turn off Windows SmartScreen.

You may as well turn down or off UAC too while you’re there.

  1. Go back to the Security and Maintenance screen.
  2. Select Change User Account Control settings.
  3. Select the minimum protection or turn it off completely

Now you can install your app or do whatever it is you need to do without Windows getting in the way. I would suggest turning SmartScreen and UAC back on once you have installed it and everything is working as intended.

If anything untoward does happen, remember that Dave’s Computers is here to help. Call us at 908-428-9558 or bring your computer to the store for expert assistance.

How to create reminders with Windows 10 sticky notes

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Actual sticky notes made of paper are so last century. The time of the Post-It are long gone and the new digital sticky note is its replacement. No sticky residue, no wasted paper and no screens surrounded by multicolored squares to distract you from your work. Long live the sticky note!

Windows 10 includes a version of digital sticky notes in the operating system as it knows how forgetful the average user is. Those of us who need reminding constantly of appointments, meetings or chores can benefit greatly from their inclusion. So here is how to use sticky notes in Windows 10.

Create reminders with Windows 10 sticky notes

Rather than covering your sleek black monitor in cheap fluorescent colors, it might be easier on the eye to create them within the screen instead of on it.

  1. Type ‘sticky’ into the Search Windows (Cortana) box and a yellow square should magically appear on screen.
  2. Type into it to create your reminder.
  3. Click the three little dots to change the color and then the little cog in the bottom left to switch off sending usage statistics.
  4. Click the trash icon when you’re finished with the note.

That’s all there is to using sticky notes really. Each note is held in memory and is dynamic in that you can change or delete them on the fly. They will also make it through a reboot so you don’t have to worry about losing them either.

If you use Windows Ink, sticky notes take on a life of their own. If you write a date or time in the note, Windows will recognize it and can add it to your calendar. That isn’t available on the standard edition yet but we expect it to arrive soon.

I like Windows 10 sticky notes. Such a simple idea yet helps busy people like me so much!

If you cannot access Windows 10 sticky notes or something is going wrong with them or anything on your computer, contact Dave’s Computers today. We’re here to help!

How to fix the Automatic Startup Repair loop in Windows 10

how-to-fix-the-automatic-startup-repair-loop-in-windows-10

The Automatic Startup Repair loop in Windows 10 is a frustrating place to find yourself. Your computer reboots constantly and doesn’t let you interrupt it or find out what’s wrong. It seems an endless cycle that you can only interrupt by powering off. Fortunately, there is a way round it.

There are a few simple techniques you can use to interrupt the cycle and troubleshoot it. I’ll show you how.

Fix the Automatic Startup Repair loop in Windows 10

To be able to troubleshoot the Automatic Startup Repair loop, we need to get the computer working and interrupt the cycle. For that we’ll use your Windows 10 installation media. If you bought your PC with Windows already installed or upgraded to Windows 10 from a previous version, download the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool and create one.

Then:

  1. Set your computer to boot from the media you just created in the BIOS.
  2. Once the installer reaches the window that says Install, select Repair your computer in the bottom left corner.
  3. Select Troubleshoot, Advanced options and Command Prompt. This will take you to the Windows Recovery Environment.
  4. Type ‘chkdsk /f /r’ into the Command Prompt window and hit Enter.
  5. Allow the process to complete.

This will check your hard drive for errors. Once the process has completed, try this:

  1. Go back to the Command Prompt window.
  2. Type ‘sfc /scannow’ and hit Enter.
  3. Allow the process to complete.

This will utilize the built-in System File Checker to verify your Windows 10 boot files. If it finds any issues the process will automatically fix them. Reboot your computer and retest.

If that doesn’t work, try this:

  1. Set your computer to boot from the media you just created in the BIOS.
  2. Once the installer reaches the window that says Install, select Repair your computer in the bottom left corner.
  3. Select Troubleshoot, Advanced options and Startup Repair. The reason we don’t do this first is that it can be a little hit and miss.
  4. Allow the process to complete. If it finds errors, reboot and retest.

Those steps should have your computer booting into Windows 10 as normal. If it doesn’t, call us here at Dave’s Computers on 908-428-9558 and we’ll take care of everything for you.

Five diagnostic tools for home network troubleshooting part 2

network troubleshooting

Continuing on from yesterday where we covered Ipconfig, PING and Tracert, we continue our overview of home network troubleshooting tools. Today we’re going to look at Nslookup and Netstat.

Nslookup

Nslookup is an excellent tool for troubleshooting DNS (Domain Name System) issues. If you’re having trouble connecting to other computers or websites using their URL but can connect using an IP address, it can often be DNS that is causing the issue. Nslookup can help.

Nslookup finds the IP address linked to a domain name. If Nslookup works, DNS is working fine. If it doesn’t, your issue could be DNS related.

  1. Open a CMD window as an administrator.
  2. Type ‘nslookup and the domain name’. For example, you could type ‘nslookup www.google.com’ to find out the IP address of the server. Commercial entities will often have multiple servers, so the IP address may change.

If you see IP addresses, DNS is working. If you don’t, DNS may not be working and your investigations should go in that direction.

Netstat

The Netstat is our final network troubleshooting tool. Netstat allows you to display all of the active network ports on a PC. Ports are used to send or listen on a network and each program will have one or many port allocations assigned to it. Knowing what ports are assigned can help troubleshooting a local network issue or follow up on a security alert.

  1. Open a CMD window as an administrator.
  2. Type ‘Netstat -an’. This command will show you all the connections and ports. From here you can see which ports are open, listening or closed. You can also see the protocol each port is using and the destination address.

From here you can check destination addresses for ones that shouldn’t be there. It is time consuming but nobody said network troubleshooting was easy!

If you have any problems using these tools or anything useful to add, leave a comment below!