Q: My friend sent me a folder with zipped files.

When I opened it on my computer, Windows showed the files’ names in green letters, rather than the normal black.

And when I tried to copy the zipped folder, Windows sent me this error message:

“Confirm Encryption Loss. Do you want to copy this folder without encryption? A problem is preventing this folder from being encrypted.”

What am I doing wrong?

A: Displaying file names in green letters, as shown above, is Windows’ way of telling you that those files are encrypted: They’re encoded to keep out snoops.

When Windows thinks a file is encrypted, it sometimes sends out odd error messages like the one below:

But the confusion can be cured quite easily. Turn the names back to black and avoid that error message by following these steps:

1. Right-click the green-lettered file or folder and choose Properties.
2. When the Properties window appears, click the Advanced button.
3. Click to remove the checkmark from the box called, “Encrypt Contents To Secure Data,” shown below, and click the OK button.

The letters return to their normal black, and you can share them with others without problem.

This annoying problem usually happens when dealing with a file that’s been zipped on an Apple computer, then opened with a Windows Vista or Windows 7 computer.

You can tell the zipped file came from an Apple computer if you spot a folder named __MACOSX inside the zipped folder. (That folder can be safely deleted on a Windows PC.)

The same green letters also appear if you try to copy files from a Windows drive that’s been encrypted with BitLocker, the encryption method built into some versions of Windows Vista and Windows 7.

But no matter why the letters are green, the fix is the same: Uncheck the box called “Encrypt Contents to Secure Data” box. It’s an easy fix to a vexing problem.

Q:

The hard drive already has some files. How do I format the drive to NTFS?

A: Creating a System Image on a portable drive is the best way to back up your Windows 7 computer.

Before a hard drive can be used,  though, it must be formatted, which is how computers prepare drives for incoming files.

Windows can format hard drives in several different ways, but System Images are picky: You can only store System Images on drives formatted with NTFS (New Technology File System).

Formatting a drive completely erases its contents, so you need to store your drive’s current files in a safe place. You can copy the drive’s files back to your computer, for example, to a flash drive, or burn them to a CD or DVD.

Once you’ve safely moved the files, follow these steps to format a drive using NTFS:

1. Plug the external hard drive into your computer.
2. Click the Start menu, and choose Computer.
3. Right-click your drive’s icon and choose Format from the pop-up menu.
4. When the Format window appears, be sure to choose NTFS from the File System menu.
5. Click the Start button.

Windows formats your drive using NTFS, making it acceptable for storing System Images.

After formatting your drive, copy its original files back onto the drive.

Alternatively, you can trust Windows to convert your drive to NTFS, leaving the existing files intact. However, if something goes wrong during the conversion process, you’ll lose your files.

It’s safer to backup your files, format the empty drive to NTFS, and copy the files back to the drive.

Q: I sometimes visit sites that I don’t want others to know about.

How can I hide these from other people who may visit my computer?

A: The more you work with your computer, the more your computer knows about you. In fact, Windows probably knows a lot more things about you than you suspect.

Your computer keeps track of the websites you visit, the songs and videos you play, the user names and passwords you type in online, the items you type into forms, the last documents you’ve opened, the things you’ve searched for, and much more.

Telling your computer to stop tracking all that information takes a lot of time, and the procedure differs with each version of Windows.

But let’s start with Internet Explorer 9.

InPrivate Browsing in Internet Explorer 9

You can tell Internet Explorer 9 to stop logging your web browsing by turning on InPrivate Browsing. When used, InPrivate Browsing gives Internet Explorer temporary amnesia: The browser stops remembering which websites you visit, leaving no trace on our own computer.

Don’t bother using it at work; even through your computer won’t keep a record, your company’s network still knows you’re playing Farmville on Facebook. No, InPrivate Browsing only keeps your own computer from remembering your browsing history.

To turn on InPrivate mode, follow this simple step:

1. Open Internet Explorer, click the Tools button (the little gears icon in the top, right corner), and choose InPrivate Browsing.

A new Internet Explorer window opens, but with a twist: This Internet Explorer doesn’t track what you’re doing in this window; you won’t leave any traces while you’re currently browsing.

But what about places you’ve previously visited? How do you wipe their evidence from your computer?

Deleting the History of Websites you’ve Visited

To delete your entire history of visited websites in Internet Explorer 9, follow these steps:

1. Click the Start button, choose All Programs, and choose Internet Explorer. (Or, launch Internet Explorer by clicking its icon on your toolbar.)
2. Click Internet Explorer’s Settings icon (the gears in the top, right corner), choose Safety, and select Delete Browsing History.
3. Check the items you wish to delete, and click the Delete button to wipe them from your computer. (If you’re feeling especially paranoid, check all the boxes except the first one.)

That’s it.

If you prefer picking and choosing, here’s a rundown on the items you can delete in Step 3:

• Preserve Favorite website data: If you’ve listed a website on your Favorites list, chances are, it’s no secret. Check this box to leave those sites out of Internet Explorer’s scrubbing.
• Temporary Internet Files: Websites constantly stash files onto your computer to load more quickly. Check this box to delete them.
• Cookies: Websites leave these small files to recognize your return visits. Check this box to delete these tracking files.
• History: Check this box to delete Internet Explorer’s list of the past websites you’ve visited.
• Download History: Checking this deletes the list of files you’ve downloaded from the Internet.
• Form data: Internet Explorer’s “AutoComplete” feature remembers words you’ve typed into online forms, then fills them in automatically when you revisit. Check this box to make Internet Explorer forget your completed forms.
• Passwords: Check this, and Internet Explorer forgets all the website passwords it saved for you. (Hopefully, you’ve written down or remembered the passwords so you can return to the site.)
• ActiveX Filtering and Tracking Protection Data: Checking this deletes a list of sites approved for ActiveX controls, removing another potential hiding place for your browsing history.

Remember, to delete all your past browsing records, click every box except the first one.

What about other programs that track your activity?

Although web browsers are the biggest culprits, many other programs track your computing activity. Your Start menu lists your most recently opened documents, for example. Most programs also list your most recently opened documents, just in case you want to open them again. How do you get rid of them all?

The best solution I’ve found is MRU-Blaster. Once you download and install MRU-Blaster, it scours your computer, then presents a list of what its found.

Click the checkbox next to what you’d like deleted, and the program scrubs them from your hard drive.

Best yet, MRU-Blaster is free and can be downloaded from Javacool Software.

Q: My friend forgot his Windows 7 password.

If I give him my Windows 7 System Repair Disc, can he restore his system to a point before he gave it a password?

And will my System Repair Disc work on his computer?

A: First, a lost password isn’t a problem in Windows 7.

It’s no problem at all, if you create a Password Reset Disk before you forget the password.

So, reader — yes, you — take a moment to create a Password Reset Disk on your Windows 7 computer by following these steps:

1. Click the Start button, click Control Panel, click User Accounts and Family Safety, and then click User Accounts.
2. In the left pane, click Create a Password Reset Disk, and then follow the instructions. Store the password reset disk in a safe place.

You can create a Password Reset Disk from a memory card or USB flash drive.

But if you’ve neglected to create a Password Reset Disk, you still have a few less forgiving options. Let’s start with the System Repair Disk.

System Repair Disks are generic. Your friend can use one you created on your own PC; Windows 7 doesn’t care about the System Repair Disk’s ancestry.

And the System Repair Disk will let you use a Restore Point on the computer with a forgotten password. The catch? That computer needs to have a Restore Point that was created before the computer had a password.

Unless your friend password-protected his computer fairly recently, he probably won’t have a Restore Point that old.

So, his options might lie with a third-party website called LoginRecovery.

That site gives you instructions for creating a bootable CD.

Once you’ve created the CD, you place the CD into the computer with the forgotten password, and turn on the PC.

The PC awakens, reads the information on the CD, and sends the encrypted password to the LoginRecovery website.

The website tries to crack the password. If the site is succeeds, it lets you know. And, after you pay about $35, the site gives you back your forgotten password.

If it’s not successful, which happens if the password is very secure, you’re out of luck.

Haven’t created a Password Reset Disk yet? Jump back to the top of this post for instructions, and create one now. It’s time.

Q:

While installing software today, I noticed that the power source wasn’t plugged all the way into the video card, so I pushed it in more tightly, and bam: The computer suddenly shut off, and it won’t turn back on.

Do you think I’ve fried the computer’s motherboard or its power supply?

A: First, a rap on the knuckles: Always unplug your computer before working inside your PC. Even if you’re just tightening a connector, turn off and unplug your computer first.

Now, back to your question. When troubleshooting a potential power supply problem, let your ears be your guide, by listening for these things:When you turn on your PC, do you hear the power supply’s fan whir into action? Even the quietest fan can be heard when you place your ear next to the round vent on the back of your computer.

If you don’t hear a spinning fan, then you’ve killed the power supply. That’s a fairly inexpensive and easy-to-install repair.

But if the fan still spins, the power supply is probably still alive, so your motherboard might be dead. Motherboards cost more than a power supply.

There’s another scenario: If you hear the fan and you hear your hard drive clicking and whirring as it loads an operating system, then you might have killed something else: the video card.

To further isolate the problem, turn to your stash of old parts and begin swapping the suspect parts with old ones you know to be good. That makes it easy to find the bad part, and lets you avoid a trip to the repair shop.

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Upgrading and Fixing Computers Do-It-Yourself For Dummies features easy step-by-step guides with photos that help you upgrade and maintain your computer, laptop, or netbook. The book is available now on Amazon.

How do I get rid of this message?

A: You’re seeing yet another annoying Windows Vista feature. When you try to run some programs, Vista’s User Account Control (UAC) normally steps in, asking if you’re sure you want to run the program. (UAC is a safety mechanism that I cover in Windows Vista For Dummies.)

The message you’re now seeing means that one of your recently installed programs needs your click of approval. However, that particular program is trying to run as soon as you log onto your account. Since UAC doesn’t have time to step in, Windows simply stops the program from running, and sends you the message.

To stop the message, follow these steps:

1. Click the “Blocked startup programs” icon on the taskbar, and point to the “Run blocked program menu” list. There, in the figure below, you’ll see the programs Vista has blocked from starting.

2. If you want to run the blocked program, click its name. Type your password, if prompted, or click Continue, and the program will begin running. (Unfortunately, you must repeat these steps every time you log onto your account.)

3. If you don’t want to run the blocked program, or you’re not sure what to do, choose “Show or remove blocked startup programs.” Windows Defender appears, listing every program that starts automatically.

4. Click the name of the program you don’t want to run, and click the Disable button. (If you change your mind, repeat these steps, and click the Enable button.)

This message often appears in Vista after you install antivirus or other security programs. Those types of programs both require your approval to run, and they want to run as soon as you log onto your account. If you’re tired of seeing the message, check with the program’s manufacturer to see if they have an updated version that doesn’t trigger the message.

Microsoft’s support site offers more technical information about the error message.

Anthrax virus, courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Q: I was scanning my laptop for potential threats, and the scan results stated there was a “threat agent” on my laptop. I know what a threat is, but what’s a threat agent. Is there a difference?

A: The word “threat” usually stands for a category of things that pose a potential danger. Viruses, worms, and other types of malware, for example, are threats. A “threat agent,” by contrast, is a specific threat, or a specific type of virus, worm, or other malware. For example, the Blaster Worm is a threat agent.

So, it sounds like your laptop has picked up something nasty, and should be disinfected. I like Microsoft’s free antivirus program.