Alexander: Why e-mailed photos are sometimes sideways, and how to fix it

Q: My son e-mails me photos from his iPhone, but sometimes the photos are sideways in the e-mail and I don't see any way to correct it. (When this happens with e-mails from other people, I can correct it.) I'm using Windows 7 (I'm not having any problems with it). What should I do?

Deb Grehl, Nisswa, Minn.

A: When the iPhone takes a photo, it includes orientation information about how the picture should be displayed. This information (called metadata) is stored with the photo, and travels along with the picture when the photo is e-mailed. So, in theory, the e-mail recipient should always see the photo right side up.

But three things can go wrong: The orientation information can be lost when the photo is e-mailed. The photo's orientation information may have been wrong in the first place. Or the recipient's e-mail software may not be able to read the orientation information.

The only one of these factors you can control is your e-mail software. If you download your Charter Communications e-mail to a PC-based e-mail program such as Microsoft Outlook or Mozilla Thunderbird, check to see if there are any updates for the PC software. (See tinyurl.com/e42dy3hk for Outlook, and see tinyurl.com/hrb5w7nw for Thunderbird.) If you have Outlook 2013 or newer, you should be able to rotate a sideways photo in an e-mail you receive (see tinyurl.com/pws4r52b).

The ultimate solution is to download the e-mailed photo to your PC, then use the Windows 7 Paint program to rotate it (see tinyurl.com/8h3ubfvu).

I doubt that this problem is related to your use of Windows 7. But you are taking a big security risk by continuing to use an operating system that no longer gets Microsoft security updates.

Jeffrey Engelhardt­-Fischbein, Burnsville

A: Google says it's working on the problem. In the meantime, the only available workaround is to disconnect your phone from your car software, then connect them again.

To do that, open your phone's Settings and in the search window type Android Auto. In the resulting menu, click Android Auto, then click "Previously connected cars." Click the three dots on the upper right corner of the screen, then click "Forget all cars." Then set up your phone-to-car connection again.

Danny Anthony of Plymouth disagreed with my warning last week that unsolicited e-mails that appear to be from computer firms should be treated as scams. He said he receives useful unsolicited corporate e-mails containing privacy-policy updates. To be clear, privacy-related e-mails aren't unsolicited. Customers agree to receive them when they sign up to use computer services. I was warning about unsolicited e-mails that seem to come from legitimate computer companies but contain malware warnings, bills for services or offers of technical help — legitimate firms don't send e-mails like that.