Computing desk
< December 29	<< Nov \| December \| Jan >>	December 31 >

Welcome to the Wikipedia Computing Reference Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages.

December 30

Calling method in Python 3

Why do you use abs(-3), but not 3.abs()? But 'abc'.upper() is ok, but not upper('abc').Clipname (talk) 12:08, 30 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

How does Python 3 parse a command?

If it sees: print('abc {} {}'.format(1,2).upper(), would it go from left to right (print, which string?, create string, capitalize), or would it follow other approach? Clipname (talk) 12:10, 30 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

If you want to see, in general, how Python parses something, you can use the ast module. It parses your sample code and builds an abstract syntax tree. It gives you a way to walk that tree. To simplify doing that, I used this pretty printer. For your example, that produces:

Module(body=[
    Expr(value=Call(func=Name(id='print', ctx=Load()), args=[
        Call(func=Attribute(value=Call(func=Attribute(value=Str(s='abc {} {}'), attr='format', ctx=Load()), args=[
            Num(n=1),
            Num(n=2),
          ], keywords=[]), attr='upper', ctx=Load()), args=[], keywords=[]),
      ], keywords=[])),
  ])

-- Finlay McWalter··–·Talk 13:48, 30 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

May one assume that you appended ')' to the sample? —Tamfang (talk) 22:16, 31 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Downloading paths

Could your download LimeTorrent stuff via uTorrent? 27.147.226.140 (talk) 12:41, 30 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Yep. www.limetorrents.in contains magnet links which can be used in uTorrent. Personally I prefer using Deluge instead of uTorrent because Deluge is free, opensource software that does not contain any bad stuff. (((The Quixotic Potato))) (talk) 20:34, 30 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Internet Connection Issue

While I'm using my PC someone minimises my windows, toggles with it, also sometimes opens up porn stuff. What do I do? How do I block this? I require an instant solution please. 27.147.226.140 (talk) 18:00, 30 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

You can read our Adware#As_malware article. Ruslik_Zero 20:25, 30 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

I recommend using the free version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and making it scan the entire computer. Click here and follow the instructions on screen. It may be a good idea to also get a virusscanner. I would recommend the free trial version of ESET Smart Security (which used to be called ESET NOD32, we need to update the article). The trial versions of both are completely free, and you can uninstall them after using them. (((The Quixotic Potato))) (talk) 20:31, 30 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

You should also be very careful about entering any passwords, and especially any banking details on that computer since if another party can gain control then they have probably installed a keystroke logger to capture everything that you type. Dbfirs 20:39, 30 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Changing some of your passwords (e.g. e-mail, banking, facebook) may be a good idea; but please do that on a computer that is not infected! (((The Quixotic Potato))) (talk) 20:42, 30 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

... and don't use the passwords on the infected computer until you are absolutely sure that you have removed all infections. The guaranteed method is to backup your data, format your hard drive and reinstall everything, then check all your backup media for infections before using them. If the malware is unsophisticated then just running a few anti-malware programs as suggested above might remove it, but some malware tends to reinstall itself very cleverly. Dbfirs 20:47, 30 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

@Dbfirs: Nice teamwork! (((The Quixotic Potato))) (talk) 21:09, 30 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Where did the circle go?

I have Windows 10 and Microsoft Edge. I clicked on the X in the upper right corner but the URL and everything else at the top of the screen was still there, even if nothing worked. This has happened before. After some time had passed, I happened to look at the screen and saw "Where to next?" and saw a list of options, all sites I go to frequently. After I chose one, I noticed that at the top of the screen where the name of the web site is, the rotating circle (not actually a circle but a group of dots that chase each other in a circle) did not appear to the left of the web site name when I would click on any link of type a URL. Most of the time, that circle is there when I am waiting for a site to come up.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 22:09, 30 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

One more detail. I got a message at some point that a site was slow due to a long-running script and there was a button to stop the script. When I did this, everything I had done since I clicked on the X was gone. A Yahoo email I was composing reloaded with the original content before I had added anything, and whatever site I was on disappeared and was replaced with a site I had been looking at earlier in the day. And the circle was back.

I should mention that shortly after all this, I got a message saying the computer would shut down for major updates. The Internet has worked so much better since those were completed. Just in case anyone is suggesting updates or anything.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 22:15, 30 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

A group of pure white dots that chase each other in a circle appears when you're loading Windows and when you're using programs outside of the normal Desktop mode. It's fundamentally the same idea as the hourglass that was used in Windows at least as far back as the 3.1 days. Is this circle the same as that one, or are you describing something different? Nyttend (talk) 12:03, 31 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

I don't know what normal desktop mode is but this is "normal" for me.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 16:41, 31 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Did you use Windows 8 at some point? If so, you'll remember how you could use it in a default mode whereby only one program could be used at a time, or you could run it in Desktop mode in a manner comparable to previous versions of Windows. That's what I mean by normal desktop mode, and by "outside of" it I meant the default mode. Sorry I can't explain myself better; I absolutely hated the one-at-a-time mode and used desktop 100% of time once I figured out how to get it to work. I've always used the desktop mode since getting Windows 10, so even though I've had it for maybe a year, I can't remember if W8's non-desktop mode is an option in W10. Nyttend (talk) 04:10, 1 January 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I bought the computer a year ago with Windows 10 already installed.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 18:26, 1 January 2017 (UTC)[reply]

No, sorry that I confused you, but I wasn't meaning to ask about that. I was trying to ask if you, personally, had used Windows 8 on any computer, because my explanation depends on you being at least a little familiar with it. Nyttend (talk) 00:19, 2 January 2017 (UTC)[reply]

And to get to the internet I click on the "e" at the bottom of the screen. What happens when I get there is essentially the way I've always done it.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 18:30, 1 January 2017 (UTC)[reply]

FWIW from a non-technical user: I too am now using a Windows 10 PC, which of course came with the web browser Microsoft Edge (the "e" you're clicking), and on which I have also installed Mozilla Firefox, which I much prefer for both useability and aesthetic reasons. I have noticed that when I want to surf the net, opening Edge often takes significantly longer than opening Firefox. This might be in part because Edge insists on opening a large page of news and advert items called "My feed" (which I can't get rid of, and which I assume take some time to all complete loading up, sometimes with glitches), whereas Firefox merely shows a search box and a few generic remarks (and sometimes appeals for donations). I also get far fewer "freezes" on Firefox than on Edge. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 2.122.62.241 (talk) 21:05, 1 January 2017 (UTC)[reply]

It's too complicated for me to install Firefox. However, I go right to whatever I want to do with Edge, although sites take longer to do anything when I first get on the computer. There's nothing visible like a feed or news, except when I am going to the email address that came with my Internet access. I haven't figured out how to stay signed in on this computer, something that was not a problem on the old computer, so I end up on a main page with a bunch of useless celebrity news and other nonsense. I am TOLD I'm going to a sign-in page, but that requires another step which takes a long time to happen.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 16:39, 2 January 2017 (UTC)[reply]

This is the complicated procedure I performed to install Firefox:
Go to https://ninite.com/
Scroll down a little to the section "1. Pick the apps you want"
Under the first subsection "Web Browsers", check the third of the three boxes, labelled "Firefox"
(Also, check the boxes for any of the other applications you might want out of the extensive lists)
In the next section "2. Download and run your custom installer/updater", click the box marked "Get Your Ninite"
Wait until the install(s) is(are) done.

Ninite was recommended to me by my company's senior IT officer, as being routinely used by professionals. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 2.122.62.241 (talk) 19:27, 2 January 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Assuming that my Internet is even fast enough now to do this, I just know there will be additional complications. I'd just rather not.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 19:34, 2 January 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2016 December 30

Contents