Computer Q&A
How to stop Gmail snoop at public Wi-Fi
By Rob Pegoraro
Q: How can I keep somebody from snooping in my Gmail when I’m using a public Wi-Fi connection?
A: You should use an option that Google’s popular Web-mail service finally began offering in July: a security setting that will switch your Gmail use to an encrypted, protected connection.
When you log in to Gmail, click the “Settings” link at the top right of the page, scroll down until you see a “Browser connection” category and click the button next to “Always use https.”
From then on, your Gmail sign-in and everything else you read or write at this site will be digitally scrambled as it flows from Gmail’s servers to your browser and back.
But when you’re reading sensitive messages in public, don’t forget to make sure nobody’s looking over your shoulder.
Changing letter for drive?
Q: How do I change the letter assigned to a drive in Windows?
A: You normally shouldn’t have to bother doing this — unless, perhaps, you’re bored with calling your primary drive “C:” after the past three decades of doing so.
But adding extra drives or connecting to another computer on a home network can lead to drive-letter conflicts.
For example, when I plugged a multi-format card reader into my desktop at work, it grabbed a drive letter that already belonged to a shared volume on the office network, confusing a few programs.
In that case, you should follow the procedure outlined by Microsoft at support. microsoft.com/kb / 3 0 7 8 4 4 , which involves traipsing through a little-used corner of the Control Panel to get to a “Disk Management” applet that, among other tasks, will let you assign the letter of your choice to any drive. This article refers to Windows XP, but the same procedure works in Windows Vista.
Wikipedia for cell phones
Q: Is there a mobile-phone edition of Wikipedia? The real thing takes forever to load on my cell.
A: The next time you need to settle a bar bet, you can choose from a few phone-friendly versions of the user- generated, user-edited encyclopedia.
Its official mobile-phone edition, en. mobile. wikipedia.org, provides the text, but not the images, of the original. For more visual detail, an ad-supported, third-party site, wapedia. mobi, features thumbnail versions of Wikipedia’s illustrations.
Wikipedia’s home page doesn’t link to any mobile edition, which led me to note this ethical issue on my blog: Would it be wrong for me to edit the home page to fix that oversight?
Blocking fax messages
Q: For months now, someone in the 202 area code has been trying to send my BlackBerry a fax. I’ve tried calling and faxing the mystery faxer, without effect. Can I get my wireless carrier to block the call?
A: Years ago, I would occasionally enjoy the delightful experience of picking up my phone at work, only to hear the screech of a fax machine. That was annoying enough, and I wasn’t paying for any airtime minutes back then!
Unfortunately, if some bozo is besieging your cell phone with misguided faxes, you may have no options. Two of the four major nationwide carriers, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile, don’t offer any way for customers to block calls from particular numbers.
AT&T Wireless, however, offers a $4.99-a-month add-on called Smart Limits. It’s intended for parents who want to regulate who can reach a child’s phone, but it would work in this scenario, too.
Verizon Wireless, meanwhile, plans to offer a usage-controls option for most of its phones this month, though it hasn’t announced a price.
Got a question on personal technology? Send a note to Washington Post columnist Rob Pegoraro at robp@washpost.com . Questions can be answered only through this column.
