Q. I went to delete a file and it just deleted without asking for confirmation. I prefer having a "safety net," requiring me to confirm any deletions. Do you know why it would do this?

A. It sounds like your Recycle Bin settings may have changed. Right-click your Recycle Bin and select Properties. Select the Global tab, which will encompass all hard drives. In Windows 7, select the General Tab. Click to place a check mark in the box next to Display Delete Confirmation dialogue, followed by Apply OK.

Q. I use a flash drive to back up my data and I leave it plugged in all the time. Does leaving it plugged in wear it out quicker, or should I be plugging it in only when I need to copy something to it?

A. Leaving a flash drive plugged in will have no adverse effect on the drive. Wear and tear occurs during the read/write process, not from a flash drive sitting idly in a USB port. I recommend a rotational flash-drive backup protocol which results in one or more backup flash drives NOT residing in a computer at all times. In other words, I have two or more flash drives for each computer and each time I back up data, I remove one drive and insert another. So at any time, my flash drives are either current or one backup behind. I also keep my most important data backed up within a free Gmail account I maintain for that specific purpose. To do this, I simply mail, as an attachment, any important files I want to keep safely off-site.

Mr. Modem's

Sites of the Month

· Calm is an online oasis, a safe harbor that provides an opportunity to relax in increments of two, ten or 20 minutes. Click to select the amount of time then well, relax. You can customize your relaxation experience by selecting a background image and sound, the type of music you want to hear and whether or not you want guidance on your journey to relaxation.

http://calm.com

· History of Rock and Roll in 100 Riffs is a remarkable demonstration by guitar-player Alex, who plays 100 of the most famous riffs in rock and roll history, all in a single take. The video is 12 minutes in length, so crank up the volume, sit back and enjoy.

http://bit.ly/OdEH8U