by Norm Salzberg |
Joy of Computing |
The following article was published in the Laguna Woods Globe on Thursday, October 30, 2008
Lately, this column (as published in the Laguna Woods Globe) has not been its usual biweekly self. Our editor is limited to less print area as the Globe, like most newspapers, reduces size and scope. So my Joy of Computing (and other articles) gets bumped for more time-critical news. That’s why I was pleasantly surprised to receive e-mail from resident Paul Arndt inquiring as to my whereabouts when he missed my column. Hearing that residents look forward to reading this column and clip and save back columns for future reference is what makes writing Joy of Computing so rewarding.
Last week I helped prevent mayhem here in the Village. A very senior resident called to tell me that his children threatened to murder him if he did not upgrade to high-speed Internet access. After getting frustrated trying to use his dial-up service to check e-mail during their last visit, they issued him that draconian ultimatum. When I explained that our Broadband TV cable access to the Internet costs only $19.95 per month (plus a one-time charge for the cable modem) and that there are now 5,065 residents who subscribe to West Coast Internet’s service, he agreed to make the switch.
Ruth and I recently completed a trip to the East coast to see family and friends and attend an Elderhostel in Cape May, NJ. All plans, reservations and payments were done on the Internet, including exchanging frequent flyer miles for two round trip tickets. As I tell my Internet class students, it’s safer to use a credit card on the Internet than to hand one to a waitperson in a strange restaurant. Checking e-mail and other accounts while away was a snap using courtesy computers in hotels and libraries and in friend’s homes. All that’s needed is to know your provider’s mail server address and your Id and password. And, always remember to log out (sign out) when using a public computer.
There are eyeglasses now on the market to prevent Digital Eye Fatigue (DEF) and Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS). Gunnar, makers of special spectacles, claims their products will ease eyestrain when using a computer. Before spending over $100, why not try making the screen fonts larger (View Menu or Ctrl plus +) or pick up a pair of drug store glasses with a magnification of 1.25.
The LW Village PC Club will resume classes in the Learning Center in January 2009, since holding classes during the holiday season is not practical. Plans are underway for registration in December. The club still needs a volunteer to chair the Education Committee.
Norm Salzberg, ns@fea.net.
The following article was published in the Laguna Woods Globe on Thursday, September 18, 2008
“Warning! Your computer is infected with viruses and spyware. Click here to download our super virus and spyware removal program.” If an official looking window pops up with such claims – don’t believe it, don’t click on any of its links; just close it. It’s a scam! While this ad-ware infects computers without adequate anti-virus and other security protection, its advertised program will only make matters worse, and you’re out any money paid for the download. Such infections can happen when certain web sites are visited or e-mails are opened.
One insidious infection mimics the Windows XP Security Center window. It pops up with a shield symbol similar to the Security Center’s icon and the title “XP Security Center.” An animated graphic pretends to run a scan and reports the number of infections supposedly detected. Removal of this malicious program is difficult and may require reformatting your hard drive and then reinstalling all programs. Really bad infections will stop existing anti-virus tools from running and prevent the installation of a spyware removal program. Other infections may be uninstalled using the Control Panel Add/Remove utility or, at least, stopped by removing them from the Configuration folder’s Start Up file.
Google Chrome Google has released a Beta test version of Chrome, an innovative web browser to compete with Internet Explorer and Firefox. Google Chrome is fast and does away with Menus and Toolbars. It is simplistic and intuitive. Chrome’s Address Bar also serves as a Search Bar. Chrome can be downloaded at google.com/chrome. Upon installation, it will import Bookmarks and Favorites from your present browsers. It has only four Icons: Home, Tools, Reload Page and Bookmark Page. Resetting the Home Page to a web site other than Google’s introductory page takes a bit more effort than the steps needed for Firefox or Internet Explorer. One neat option provided by Chrome is the selection of an Incognito mode of surfing that will leave no trace of where you’ve been on the Internet on your computer.
Interne Explorer 8.0 Not to be outdone, Microsoft is developing Internet Explorer 8.0 to add more security features, advanced search similar to Google Suggests, and an InPrivate mode similar to Chrome’s Incognito. One new feature in IE 8.0 will add a Picture-in-Picture (web slice) screen to let users view changes on a dynamic web site such as a stock market page while doing other web surfing activity. You can download a Beta test version of IE 8.0 at Microsoft.com by entering IE 8.0 in the home page’s search bar.
Both Chrome and IE 8.0 improve a user’s protection against inadvertent ad-ware infections like the phony XP Security Center.
Norm Salzberg, ns@fea.net.
The following article was published in the Laguna Woods Globe on Thursday, September 4, 2008
“All computers are haunted,” thinks Chris Erskine in a recent Los Angeles Times column. Not exactly! While computers may do strange things, it’s not because of ghosts. More likely, it’s due to a malicious software infection or caused by over-zealous program designers. Protecting your computer from viruses, spyware, adware, and Identity theft has been discussed in this column repeatedly and is the feature article, entitled “7 Online Blunders,” in the latest issue of Consumer Reports. The impact of bad program design is the subject of today s column.
To make applications appealing to as many users as possible, software companies keep adding features, modes of operation, options, preferences and settings to each upgrade or new version. Some of these bells and whistles add compatibility with new technology and equipment or enhance security; others just add confusion and complexity. Here are a few examples:
Outlook Express’s compose mail program enables you to insert pictures in the body of a message by using the Insert Menu – Picture Option. However, the program requires the “Send Pictures with Message” Option to be selected (checked) in the Format Menu to make this happen. In addition; the “Send pictures with message” Option must also be set in the HTML Settings of the Send Tab of the Tools Menu – Options window available from the Inbox window. Why have a feature that can be denied by two other options? I’ve talked several residents through the steps necessary to enable the Insert Pictures capability after they discovered that recipients were not able to view pictures sent.
The Desktop can show shortcut Icons to start often-used programs and can store downloaded files for easy retrieval. On rare occasions, a computer may start up with a blank Desktop, leaving a user frustrated. To retrieve the Icons, right-button click on a blank area of the screen and select the “Arrange Ions By” option from the pop-up menu. Now click on “Show Desktop Icons” option to restore them. If you don’t want Icons, just delete them; why have an option in a hard-to-find location to do the same thing?
Another problem that has plagued users is not being able to print a document when there is nothing wrong with the printer. Here, the Control Panel Printers folder has options for printers including a “Use printer offline” control, found by right-button clicking on the desired printer. This defeats the purpose of having the printer.
Chris Erskine was correct when he also wrote “When in doubt, Right Button Click” in his column.
This is Number 276 of the Joy of Computing bi-weekly column series, started 11 years ago on September 11, 1997.
Norm Salzberg, ns@fea.net.
The following article was published in the Laguna Woods Globe on Thursday, August 21, 2008
The LW Village PC Club is facing major challenges in remaining a service organization dedicated to assisting residents with their computer needs. It takes almost 100 volunteers to provide educational courses in the club’s Learning Center (with 20 student stations), free access to the Internet in the club’s Workshop on any of 33 state-of-the-art computers, assistance and advice on equipment and programs, three PC stations dedicated to photography (with scanners and Photoshop and ProShow programs), presentations on relevant and pertinent subjects in Clubhouse 3, and Special Interest Group (SIG) meetings. The PC workshop is open to all residents six days a week and has over 50 visitors, on average, each three-hour shift.
None of these services is possible without volunteers to act as Workshop Supervisors and Greeters, Learning Center Instructors and Assistants, and hosts at meetings. Other volunteers work behind the scenes doing maintenance, purchasing and installing equipment, supplies and programs, and serving on the club’s Board of Directors. As with many Village clubs, we are faced with the loss of senior volunteers due to the fact that we are not getting any younger. Currently there are openings on the Board for a Program Chairman, Treasurer, Newsletter editor, and shortly an Education Director. The PC Workshop needs volunteers to fill Supervisor slots in many of its 11 three-hour shifts. The Learning Center is always on the lookout for Instructors and Assistants for its classes and for speakers and hosts for SIG’s.
If you have basic computer skills, like working with people, and can spare three hours a week for at least 75 percent of the year, contact Bob Sellards at bob511@comline.com. We will train you to become a Workshop Supervisor or Greeter. I gained much of my computer knowledge helping residents in the Workshop for the past 14 years. Teachers and assistants conduct two-hour classes in the Learning center one day a week for five weeks every two-month semester. Contact Ok Park at okdpark@gmail.com to find out more. For other areas of interest, contact me at ns@fea.net.
Total paid membership in the PC club for 2008 is 1136. The dues for next year were reduced from $15 to $10. If you are not currently a member, you can sign up in the PC Workshop now for the rest of 2008 and all of next year. Current members are encouraged to renew in the Workshop.
It only takes part of a Village to run the PC Club. Join us in helping others to enjoy their computers.
Norm Salzberg, ns@fea.net.
The following article was published in the Laguna Woods Globe on Thursday, August 7, 2008
There is nothing more frustrating than having an e-mail message, or a word processor document, disappear before mailing or saving it. All the time and effort put into your work may not be lost if you had inadvertently hit a wrong key while typing. The lost work phenomenon was reported to me many times before I realized what might have happened. Possible causes and their remedies came to me after experiencing this annoying event. The culprit is the proximity of the Control (Ctrl) Key and the Shift Key on standard keyboards. If, while entering a capital (uppercase) N, the Ctrl key is depressed, rather than the Shift key, what results is the keyboard shortcut to start a New message or page. The new page overlays work already in progress; making it appear as if your previous efforts disappeared. All is not lost, don t scream and turn off the computer, just close the new page and your work reappears.
If, while entering an uppercase A, the Ctrl key is depressed instead of the Shift key, your work will be highlighted by the keyboard shortcut Select All and the next keystroke(s) will replace everything with that entry; all previous work is gone. The trick here is to use the Undo command (shortcut: Ctrl + Z) to restore your page. The Undo action can be repeated several times to get back to where you were before the Select All blunder. The safest measure is to save your work periodically. Then, if some strange event or action wipes out what you are doing, you can at least get back to the last saved copy. However, if a document is written over and then saved, there is no way to retrieve the original work.
Saving important documents and photos on the hard drive will not help when your computer fails to start or get to the Desktop due to a corrupted operating system file or a bad hard drive. Most system restorations will cause all previous files to be wiped out. To safeguard precious documents and images, save them on an external memory device such as a CD-R or a USB flash memory using the Save As or the Sent To option. Another way of saving files is to mail them as attachments to a gmail or Yahoo Mail account. Google and Yahoo provide many gigabytes of free storage space for your password-protected mail. To get a second e-mail account; go to google.com or yahoo.com and sigh up for one. It will come in handy when a business or organization asks for your e-mail address.
Norm Salzberg, ns@fea.net.
The following article was published in the Laguna Woods Globe on Thursday, July 24, 2008
New words continuously enter the English language to describe actions and things not previously possible or in existence. The Merriam Webster dictionary recently added “malware” to its lexicon. Malware is short for “malicious software.” To paraphrase Wikipedia: malware is any program designed to infiltrate a computer system without an owner’s consent. This includes a variety of hostile, intrusive and annoying computer programs designed by hackers for personal profit at the expense of the general public, businesses and governments.
Malware includes viruses, worms, Trojan horses, rootkits, spyware, keyboard loggers, adware and other unwanted programs. Trojan horse programs can turn your computer into a zombie (robotic slave or “bot”) commanded by others to distribute spam or perform Denial of Service attacks on commercial and government servers. A network of zombies (botnet) can be rented to spammers. Rootkits embed themselves in computers, hide from detection programs and can take over control of the operating system.
Do not confuse malware with defective software. Such programs may contain critical design flaws (bugs) or have become corrupted by missing or bad files needed for execution. Both malware and defective programs will slow down computers, prevent certain operations and cause freeze-ups. Once infected with malware, it is a time consuming and costly process to remove the offending programs. Malware can enter a computer from infected emails and web sites.
The first line of defense in preventing malware from infecting computers is to have up-to-date anti-virus and anti-spyware programs and a good firewall. Although utility programs and Microsoft’s Widows XP and Vista provide adequate firewalls, it is safer to install a hardware router between the cable or DSL modem and your computer. Another security measure is to use the Firefox 3.0 browser rather than Internet Explorer. I use Firefox 3.0 in conjunction with McAfee’s free SiteAdvisor, available at siteadvisor.com More protection is available by purchasing an Internet Security composite program such as Norton 360 or Grisoft’s commercial AVG 8.0. They include rootkit detection and spam removers, but use more of a computer’s resources. Smart Computing magazine (July issue) reviewed the $59.99 version of AVG 8.0 and rated it a very good program; well worth the price. I use the free version of AVG 8.0, which provides anti-virus and anti-spyware protection.
In addition: be sure to set your computer’s preferences to accept and install updates and security fixes to Microsoft programs, never download unsolicited free programs and offers from pop-up ads, never allow visitors to install programs you don’t understand, be very wary of email attachments, and practice safe web surfing.
Norm Salzberg, ns@fea.net.
The following article was published in the Laguna Woods Globe on Thursday, July 10, 2008
A popular email pastime is sending or forwarding PowerPoint Shows of breathtaking nature photography, scenic wonders, and more to family and friends. These shows are identified by a .pps or .ppt extension in the Attachment box. Professional photographers and hobbyists create these shows. Because most shows contain many images, they are large files requiring high-speed Internet access to transmit the many megabytes of information. If a recipient is still using dial-up service, receiving a power point show will take many minutes and block other e-mail from reaching the Inbox until the show downloads.
Worse yet is the need to have Microsoft’s PowerPoint program in order to view a show. Power Point is one of the three main programs of Microsoft s Office suite; the other two are Word and Excel. A computer without a version of Office installed will not open a PowerPoint show. There is no need to go out and buy Office; the cheapest version is for students and costs about $129. Microsoft provides a free Viewer program to enable users to see PowerPoint shows. This is similar to the free Reader program Adobe provides users to view documents in Portable Document Format (.pdf) created by Adobe Acrobat.
If you don’t have Office and want to see a PowerPoint show someone sent you, go to Microsoft.com and enter “power point viewer” in the search box in the upper right hand corner of the web page. The ensuing Search Results page lists a choice of downloading Power Point Viewer 2003 or 2007. Most Power Point shows will play using the 2003 version. After clicking on the Viewer of your choice, the Download page opens with a description and details of the Viewer. Download the Viewer installation file by clicking on the Download button and saving it to the Desktop. Once downloaded, double-click on the file to start the set-up program. Follow the instructions to complete the installation.
Once you have installed this download, from the Start menu under All Programs, open Microsoft Office PowerPoint Viewer. Note: PowerPoint Viewer 2003 registers with the .ppt and .pps file extensions only if a version Office with PowerPoint is not installed on your computer. If registered, double-clicking on these file types should launch PowerPoint Viewer to start the show. I suggest saving PowerPoint attachments to the My Documents folder or the Desktop before trying to open a show with the Viewer. If you can t open a .pps show, save it with a .ppt extension or Rename it to have a .ppt extension. The Viewer will usually open these shows.
Readers send me lots of PowerPoint shows. I’ll send you one I like if you send a request to ns@fea.net.
Norm Salzberg, ns@fea.net.
The following article was published in the Laguna Woods Globe on Thursday, June 26, 2008
The new version of Grisoft’s free anti-virus program, Free AVG 8.0, has caused a few problems. A major one reported by the PC Workshop was the inability to print web pages from PC’s running the Vista Operating System. There may be an incompatibility between Vista’s Internet Explorer and AVG 8.0. Either Explorer’s security feature or AVG had to be disabled in order to print. Hopefully, Grisoft will update AVG to work with Vista. Another problem a resident ran into was the inability to run a Hoyle Card Game program after installing AVG 8.0. AVG warned her of a Trojan Horse infection. I was able to run the card games after disabling AVG’s Resident Shield component, not a safe thing to do when connected to the Internet. By reinstalling the game program from the Hoyle CD while AVG was disabled, we were able to run the games when AVG was re-enabled. The AVG warning was probably a “false positive,” which can occur when a program has the characteristics of a virus.
The Firefox 3.0 browser is now available at mozilla.com. I downloaded and installed it last week. It opens and runs faster than previous versions and is more secure than Internet Explorer. Firefox provides tighter control of cookies stored on your computer. Cookies are small files saved on a computer to aid in revisiting web sites, but also used by advertisers to track your surfing habits. Cookies for password protected web sites can be saved while opting to remove all others when exiting Firefox. Do this by opening the Tools Menu - Options and selecting the Privacy Tab. Enter the desired web addresses in the Exception Window and designate them for Allow, then set the Accept Third-Party cookies option to “until I close Firefox.” One of Firefox’s new features, the retention of extensive web site history, does not appear to be of much use to me. I still like using Favorites to revisit web sites.
Registration for the July/August semester of The PC Club’s classes has started. Only two beginner classes are available (one is in Korean) due to summer vacations by some our teachers. My Internet and Email class will again be given on Friday afternoon. Even if you can surf the web and send email, this class will help you to become more efficient in using your browser, email program, and doing Google searches. Safety and security features and many options for organizing Favorites, Addresses Books and mail folders are covered. I have made emergency house calls to solve problems that residents could have avoided by taking classes offered in the PC Club’s Learning Center.
Norm Salzberg, ns@fea.net.
The following article was published in the Laguna Woods Globe on Thursday, June 12, 2008
Keeping up with computer and program advancements is a challenge. Here’s what’s new:
To install Grisoft’s new free anti-virus and anti-spyware program AVG 8.0; go to www.free.grisoft.com, click on the Get It Now button for the free version and then the Continue link under the free version from the presentation of AVG options (the other two cost). Keep clicking on Continue and finally the Download link for the installation program. Once downloaded (it take several minutes), open the downloaded file to install free AVG 8.0, and then follow the steps to update it and set its scheduler.
Next month, topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/m/mozilla_foundation/index.html?inline=nyt-org Mozilla will release its Firefox 3.0 browser with features that could change the way people organize and find the sites they visit frequently, according to Jim Wilson of The New York Times. It runs twice as fast as previous versions while using less memory. Firefox now has 170 million users, an 18 percent share of browser users.
Firefox 3.0 is also smarter and maintains three months of browsing history to predict what site you may want to visit. Typing the word “football” into the browser, for example, quickly generates a list of all the sites visited with “football” in the name. Mozilla has named this new tool the “awesome bar;” it could replace the need for people to maintain long and messy lists of bookmarks.
Not to be outdone, topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/microsoft_corporation/index.html?inline=nyt-org Microsoft announced its latest version of Internet Explorer, which is used by 75 percent of all computer owners. The end of 2008 could see the release of Internet Explorer 8.0. It is expected to have additional features including Web Slices which allows a user to bookmark a dynamic piece of a Web site, like an online auction or a sports score, and save it in the margin of the browser, where the user can watch as it changes. Another new feature, called activities, allows users to highlight text on a page, click on it, and then instantly send it to another site, like a mapping or email service.
In April Microsoft extended its deadline for selling Windows XP licenses for low-cost laptops and desktop PC’s. It had originally planned to stop selling most XP licenses on June 30. PC makers can now include Windows XP in those systems until 2010. It was unclear what limitations Microsoft may put on PC makers to prevent them from installing Windows XP on more capable machines. Microsoft won’t specify the hardware configurations that vendors can use with XP. Guess there’s not much demand for Vista.
Norm Salzberg, ns@fea.net.
The following article was published in the Laguna Woods Globe on Thursday, May 29, 2008
My last column described how to take advantage of a mouse’s “Click and Drag" feature, which uses the mouse’s Left Button. Now, let’s consider a mouse’s Right Button, for Left-handed users (who have reversed their mouse’s button actions), I mean the Left button). The Right Button does only one thing; and that’s to open an Options Box appropriate to where the mouse’s cursor is located on the screen, and requires just one click to do so. This feature provides a quick way to see all the possible options and actions that can be performed on the designated item.
For example: a right button click on a blank spot on the Desktop will open a list of options including “Arrange Icons By" (shows many choices of how to display Icons), “New" (lets you add a Folder or a Shortcut to the Desktop), and “Properties" (which opens the Display Properties Window). Of course, it takes a Left Button (action) click to open or activate an option. Use the Display Properties Window’s Settings Tab to change the resolution of your monitor screen. The higher the resolution, the smaller Icons and text will appear on the screen. Newer programs may require 1024 by 768 rather than 800 by 600 pixels resolution.
Regardless of where a file or folder is located (Desktop, My Documents, My Pictures, etc.) a Right Button click on the file or folder will open a myriad of action choices including “Open With," “Send To," “Delete," and “Rename." “Open With" allows you to open a file with programs other than the one normally associated with the file type. If Photoshop Elements would normally open a .jpg image, using “Open With" will show other programs installed in the computer that will let you view the image; such as Irfanview, Windows Picture Viewer, and Paint. “Send To" is a handy way to copy a file or folder to a flash memory for external storage. Sending a file to the CD-RW drive starts a simple procedure to burn files on a CD without need to use a CD Burner program. “Rename" is a handy way to change the name of a picture file from a digital camera’s designated number to a descriptive title.
If you haven’t updated your free anti-virus program AVG 7.5, now is it time to do so. Grisoft’s new free Version 8.0 is available at free.grisoft.com or at downloads.com. It will replace version 7.5 during installation. Free AVG 8.0 includes an anti-spyware program and runs unobtrusively in the background. I like it.
Norm Salzberg, ns@fea.net.
The following article was published in the Laguna Woods Globe on Thursday, May 15, 2008
The release of Windows 3.0 by Microsoft in 1990 ended the Disk Operating System (DOS) era. Users could now open programs with the click of a mouse, no more typing of arcane DOS commands to manage their personal computer. A bonus feature of Windows 3.0 was the game Solitaire. Although businesses considered Solitaire a time waster for their employees, some believed the game was added as an educational tool to help beginners learn how to use a mouse. Basic classes teach the technique of Click and Drag by having the students play Solitaire.
“Click and Drag" -- “Click and Drag;" how many time have I told a resident to use this mouse procedure? Lots. It’s the easy way to move text in a document, or files from one folder, or the Desktop, to another folder. A folder can also be nested (as a sub-folder) inside another folder by clicking and dragging. This technique is very helpful to Digital Camera users once the images from a camera’s memory are transferred to their computer. If care is not taken, a load of image files in .jpg format may be dumped on the Desktop or in the My Documents or My Pictures folder.
The location for storing camera image files can be designated with Programs like Adobe Elements (with its photo down-loader) or with the Window’s Scanner and Camera Wizard when selected from the pop-up options when a camera or a memory card reader is connected to a USB port. Hopefully, a new folder is created and named for the location, date or event related to the downloaded pictures. When the download contains a mix of several photo shoots, the image files can be redistributed to specific folders by splitting the screen and using the mouse to click" on an image and dragging" it to the desired folder.
A study, reported by The New York Times last week, found that hackers no longer find it profitable to sell stolen credit card numbers and PINs. There are too many available on Web sites where stolen information is bought and sold. Now, the hackers are after company e-mail, business documents and personal health information. Criminals are seeking this information because it has become most valuable. Researchers found a server in Malaysia that housed business and personal information stolen from companies and doctors’ offices around the world. The hackers may be located anywhere and controlling the server remotely. Let’s hope they Catch and Drag these guys off to jail.
Norm Salzberg, ns@fea.net.
The following article was published in the Laguna Woods Globe on Thursday, May 1, 2008
A frequently asked question is, “How did you get to be so knowledgeable about computers?” My answer is, “By answering questions!” I have learned a lot by helping visitors to the PC Workshop for the past 14 years and replying to your e-mail queries. A case in point: the panel of “experts” at the April 21st PC Club meeting came up with their answers to over 30 sophisticated questions (submitted by members) by researching the subjects. To find explanations and procedures for the queries, we used Help Menus, the Internet and each other’s expertise.
If you missed the informative April PC Club meeting, here are a few worthwhile tips and tricks that even some of the panel did not know: to enlarge the font when printing a web page, select Print Preview from the File Menu, then change the Percent box to a value greater than 100% and click on the Print icon; to print only a portion of the text on a web page, without the accompanying ads and illustrations, highlight the desired paragraphs and select the Print option from the File Menu, then click on the Selection option in the Print Range portion of the Print Window and click on the Print button; to break through the communication barrier imposed by many businesses when trying to contact tech support or customer service. Go to gethuman.com to look up telephone numbers and hints for by-passing a company’s automated response system.
Computer technology is dynamic. Recent news has changed the answers to two of the concerns expressed in questions to the panel on April 21. AVG 7.5, the free anti-virus program, has been upgraded. AVG Technologies (formerly Grisoft), a leading provider of Internet security software, just released AVG Anti-Virus Free 8.0, the latest version of the company’s popular and widely used free security software, which now incorporates protection against spyware through a new combined anti-virus and anti-spyware engine. Download AVG Free 8.0 from free.grisoft.com.
Support for Windows XP may be extended beyond Microsoft’s schedule to end technical support by April 2009 and stop new shipments to manufacturers by June 30 of this year. According to CNET News, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said the company could re-evaluate its plans to phase out Windows XP if customers demand that it stick around. There is a campaign on the Internet to request just that.
To become more computer savvy, enroll in a PC or Mac Computer Club class.
Norm Salzberg, ns@fea.net.
The following article was published in the Laguna Woods Globe on Thursday, April 17, 2008
After reviewing Netiquette (etiquette rules for email senders), one of my Internet and Email class students suggested I remind readers of a few key rules. Most important is to use Bcc: (Blind carbon copy) when sending or forwarding mail to a number of recipients who don’t know each other. There are two reasons to observe this rule: first, the privacy of the recipients is protected by not disclosing their email addresses in the To: or Cc: Header lines; second, the message received is not cluttered with all the addresses. If the Bcc: header line is not displayed in a message window, open the View Menu and click on All Headers.
Most organizations - including the PC Club - mail notices to members using Bcc: for the reasons above. Last year, a Village club inadvertently sent a meeting notice to members using the To: header. Over 450 members subsequently received a spam “Reply to All” message from one of the members, advertising a product he was selling from home. Other Netiquette rules include: using snopes.com to verify the authenticity of chain letters before acting like Paul Revere and passing on a Hoax, Myth, or Urban Legend to everyone in your address book; removing all the message routing address headers and other junk from the forwarding trail of a message, to avoid annoying your friends and family, before forwarding a joke to them; and, please - for my sake - put a subject in the Subject header if you send me a question.
Bill Gates recently disclosed that Windows 7, now in development as the successor to Vista, might be released sooner than was expected, according to the New York times. Expect to see a test version of Windows 7 early next year. Microsoft intends to add mobile phone and touch screen display capabilities to their future versions of Windows.
Next Monday, April 21, the PC Club’s general meeting will host a Question and Answer program. A panel of local “experts” will answer questions and concerns previously submitted by email or placed in a box in the Workshop. The experts are all Workshop Supervisors with specialties in digital photography, computer maintenance, new program installation and configuration control of the Workshop systems, and Internet and Email. If time permits, questions will be accepted from the audience. We hope to see you at 6:30 PM on April 21 in Clubhouse 3. There will be door prizes and refreshments.
Norm Salzberg, ns@fea.net.
The following article was published in the Laguna Woods Globe on Thursday, April 3, 2008
My computer celebrated its fifth birthday last month. It was born with Windows XP (plus Service Pack 2) and 512 Megabytes of RAM. Since then, Microsoft has downloaded over 130 fixes and upgrades including Internet Explorer 7.0 and Defender (an Anti-spyware program). This trusty computer has been turned on and off an average of twice a day, or about 3,600 times in the past five years with no ill effects. It only takes 80 seconds to be ready for use from a cold start, and it has never been repaired.
The computer’s longevity can be attributed to practicing safe Internet surfing, using the Firefox browser (instead of Internet Explorer), a Router/Firewall, Grisoft’s free anti-virus program AVG, occasional disk cleanups, and the quality components used by the local builder. Microsoft plans to release Service Pack 3 to users of Windows XP in late April. SP 3 will consolidate all previous security patches and add a few tweaks and goodies. Technical reviewers rate Microsoft’s Vista a more secure operating system, although about 10 percent slower than XP. Windows XP will be available for installation in new computers for another year.
One of Vista’s features is the Magnifier; a useful tool that allows visually impaired users to zoom in on a section of the display screen. Once the Magnifier is launched, the screen shows an enlarged area controlled by the position of the mouse cursor. A resident inadvertently turned on the Magnifier but could not find a way to remove the enlargement window since she didn’t need it. None of the options available in the Magnifier window menus would turn the Magnifier off. It would reappear each time her computer started. To remove the Vista Magnifier window, do the following: Open the Control Panel; Double Click on Ease of Access Center; Click on Make the Computer Easier To See under the Explore All Settings heading; and uncheck Turn On the Magnifier box. That should do it.
Grisoft has maintained daily updates of its free Anti-Virus program AVG 7.5 for quite a while. Recently, Grisoft’s web site has been recommending their new 8.0 Version, which is a complete Internet security package selling for over $50. As with a number of other originally free programs, once their popularity is established, the creator may decide to market the program. With the risk of infection by sophisticated malicious hacker programs increasing, it may be time to invest in AVG 8.0, even though there are other free Anti-Virus programs available if Grisoft discontinues its free version.
The following article was published in the Laguna Woods Globe on Thursday, March 20, 2008
A frequently asked question is “How do I e-mail photos from a digital camera?” Here are the basics you need to know: Digital Cameras save photos on a Flash Memory card. These stored images can be transferred to a computer folder created in My Pictures, or on the Desktop, named for the locale or subject matter of the images. Use the cable that came with the camera or a card reader connected to a computer’s USB port to import the camera’s photo files to the new folder.
After the camera’s picture files are moved to a folder, they have to be scaled for easy viewing in an e-mail message. Relatively inexpensive cameras take photos with 6 to 8 Mega-pixel quality. While this is a nice feature for printing large pictures, the size and resolution of these images is not compatible with viewing in an e-mail message. A digital camera image may have dimensions of 15.644 inches width by 11.733 inches height at a resolution of 180 pixels per inch. Each Pixel (short for Picture Element) contains the details one little square of the image. By converting the height and width to pixels and calculating the area, we get 5,947,054 pixels; which is why my Canon S3 camera is rated at 6 Mega-pixels.
If a Mega-pixel image were inserted in an e-mail message, the recipient would see only a small portion of the picture on the computer screen at one time, due to the resolution of the display screen and the dimensions of the image. A 17-inch (diagonal) monitor with a display setting of 1024 by 768 pixels has a resolution of 75 pixels per inch (1024 pixels divided by 13.5 inch width). To view the entire picture in e-mail, the image has to be reduced to 75 pixels per inch and the largest dimension set to 7 or 8 inches. Use a Photo editing program, such as Picasa, Irfanview or Photoshop, to resize the image. Save the rescaled photo in the photo folder for the next step.
Now, create a new message in Outlook Express and, when in the text field, open the Insert menu and click on the Picture option. Use the Browse button in the pop-up Picture window to locate the reduced image file in the photo folder, then click on Open and then click on OK. The photo is now part of the message and ready for sending. A similar procedure works for Yahoo Mail, Hotmail or Gmail.
Norm Salzberg, ns@fea.net.
The following article was published in the Laguna Woods Globe on Thursday, March 6, 2008
Our parents may have taught us the facts of life, but how to use a computer was not in their curriculum back then. Here are a few tips and tricks my mother never told me.
To turn off a frozen system (mouse and keyboard stopped working), or one that doesn’t finish shutting down, just press the computer’s Power button for five seconds. No need to crawl on the floor to pull plugs. This time delay was designed to prevent an accidental shut down by a momentary press of the Power button.
To enter a web site address without typing www. and .com, just click on the address bar and enter the site’s name (like google or nytimes), hold down the Ctrl key and press Enter. The browser will add the www. and .com portions of the address; saving a lot of typo errors.
If you are not sure your Internet Provider’s mail service is working, send yourself a simple email message. You should get your message back in the Inbox within a few minutes if all is well.
Not sure of the spelling of a word in a document or an email message? Highlight the word by double-clicking on it and then press the F7 key. The spell checker will pop up with OK or suggestions if the word is misspelled. Note: Outlook Express does not have its own spell checker; it shares the one in Microsoft’s Word. That’s why computers with Word Perfect will not perform a spell check in Outlook Express.
To email a photo from a digital camera, or an image from a scanner, the photo’s resolution should be 73 pixels (dots) per inch and sized no larger than eight inches in its longest dimension. Otherwise, the recipient will have trouble viewing the picture. With today’s six to eight megapixel cameras, and scanners set to 300 dots per inch resolution, use a photo-editing program (Picassa, Irfanview, or Photoshop) to rescale the image to 73 dots per inch and reasonable dimensions.
Save important work — documents, images, spreadsheets — to an external memory device (flash memory or CD) for safekeeping in case of a hard drive failure, accidental deletion, or writing over a file.
And last, if you create a password to access your computer, or for Internet Explorer’s Content Advisor, write it down and save it in a safe place. Forgetting a password can lead to a costly repair job.
Norm Salzberg, ns@fea.net.
The following article was published in the Laguna Woods Globe on Thursday, February 21, 2008
The Joy of Computing column printed in the Globe’s February 7th issue lost its last paragraph on its way to press. The missing paragraph listed security tools and measures needed to prevent malicious programs from infecting a computer. Hopefully, the gremlins (and layout staff) will not stop the lost paragraph from being printed today; so here it is:
“A good security arsenal should include anti-virus, anti-spyware and anti-adware programs; an external Router firewall; accepting security updates for your operating system; using the Firefox browser; and installing McAfee’s Site Advisor program. In addition; never invite the bad guys into your computer by clicking on unsolicited free offers, never open attachments to strange e-mail or download add-ons or programs before checking with Google or Yahoo on their safety, and never respond to phishing requests for personal identity information. More information on Cybercrime can be found by entering cybercrime prevention 0 into a Google or Yahoo search bar.”
Registration is now open for the March-April semester of the PC Club’s Learning Center classes. A short course in computer maintenance has been added to the curriculum. This new course will cover keyboard and mouse techniques for house cleaning and tuning up a computer using system tools in the Windows operating system. No screwdriver or soldering iron needed.
My Internet and Email class will also be given. Every semester I update the class notes to keep up with the ever-changing World Wide Web. Will the next big change result from the attempted takeover of Yahoo by Microsoft? One of the students in my current class reported that he was unable to include pictures when sending or forwarding email. None of the Options under the Outlook Express Tools Menu were of any help in correcting this problem. Before the next class, he found an option “Send pictures with message in the Mail Window’s Format Menu. That option is usually checked, but was not in his computer. Why it’s not part of the main Tools Menu is a mystery.
All classes, from Basic to Advanced, cover many of the options, preferences and settings available in application programs. They allow users to customize programs to suit their needs. By experimenting, you can make programs easier to use. And you can always restore changes if they don’t work out. Experiment and enjoy.
Norm Salzberg, ns@fea.net.
The following article was published in the Laguna Woods Globe on Thursday, February 7, 2008
The handwriting is on the wall — and on the box. Recently released programs require adequate and up-to-date computer system resources (Operating System, processor, RAM, and monitor). TurboTax 2007 will not run under Windows 98 and Photoshop Elements 6.0 requires Windows XP with Service Pack 2. A resident found this out the hard way when trying to install Elements 6.0. His computer was never upgraded from XP Service Pack 1 to Version 2. So, be sure to read the system requirements listed on the box before you buy a new version of a favorite program.
Programs and web sites are rendering computers more than five years old obsolete. Kodak’s Gallery will not display posted photos on PC’s using Windows Millennium. Grisoft’s free anti-virus program, AVG, will not be supported on PC’s running Windows 98 beyond August 2008. After five years, a computer is running on borrowed time. Consider backing up important files, images, address books and Favorites to an external memory before a hard drive fails. Signs of impending doom are occasional failures to boot up to the Desktop, program freezes, and frequent error messages.
More handwriting on the wall can be found in newspapers and magazines, radio and TV features, and government and business alerts about Cybercrime. Hackers, spammers, con artists and unscrupulous advertisers are continuously developing more sophisticated malware programs. These include spyware, adware, Trojan horses, viruses, worms, and keyboard logger programs that can infect unprotected computers. Once embedded in a computer, newer malware is extremely difficult to locate, quarantine, or remove. To avoid unwanted (and annoying) pop-up and pop-under advertisement windows, identity theft, computer slowdowns, and worse, you have to install and keep up-to-date a number of security tools.
A good security arsenal includes: anti-virus, anti-spyware and anti-adware programs; an external Router firewall; accepting security updates for your operating system; using the Firefox browser; and McAfee’s free Site Advisor program. In addition, never invite the bad guys into your computer by clicking on free offers, opening attachments to strange email, downloading add-ons or programs before checking with Google or Yahoo on their safety, and responding to phishing requests for personal identity information. More information on Cybercrime can be found by entering “cybercrime prevention” into a Google or Yahoo search bar.
Just as in the Book of Daniel, when the ominous handwriting on the wall judged Belshazzar, don’t let your computer be “found wanting.”
Norm Salzberg, ns@fea.net.
The following article was published in the Laguna Woods Globe on Thursday, January 24, 2008
Digital gadgets, gismos, and widgets abound. Cell phones, iPod and MP3 players, digital cameras and picture frames, GPS Navigators, and USB drives are all made possible by flash memory chips. These micro-electronic chips can store gigabytes of information and program instructions in an extremely small space. Just entering the market are hybrid hard drives for laptops. They combine flash memory with a conventional rotating disk, making the storage unit more reliable and requiring less power.
Increasingly popular flash memory storage devices — known as USB Drives, Thumb Drives, and Jump Drives — plug into a computer’s USB port. Two-Gigabyte storage units sell for as low as $20. They can hold the equivalent of three CD’s worth of music, picture and document files. Transferring files and folders between a computer and a USB Drive is fast and easy. Files on a flash memory can be deleted and written over, making these devices flexible and reusable.
USB Drives are easily lost or left plugged into a public access computer. To protect your privacy, personal information can be encrypted by more expensive units. One model has a built-in fingerprint reader for Id protection. Once setup, only the owner can open stored files by passing his fingertip over the print reader.
Two recent products that make use of flash memory are the XO laptop for children and Amazon’s Kindle electronic book (e-book) reader. The XO laptop does not have a hard drive. It operates from one Gigabyte of flash memory and runs under the Linux operating system. The XO is extremely rugged and costs $200. It is being distributed to schoolchildren in poor countries. The Kindle has built-in flash memory and can be augmented by plug-in flash memory cards to store up to 200 books downloaded by wireless. Kindle costs $400 and each book costs $10.
The February issue of PC World reports incompatibilities between Microsoft’s Vista and several major software and hardware vendors, almost a year after Vista’s release. Some older printers will not work with Vista due to lack of updated driver programs. Adobe Photoshop CS2 is not fully compatible with Vista. An upgrade to CS 3 is required - at the user’s expense. One Vista feature that works is Ready Boost; it allows owners to double the size of a computer’s Random Access Memory (RAM) from one Gigabyte to two Gigabytes with a USB Drive.
Norm Salzberg, ns@fea.net.
The following article was published in the Laguna Woods Globe on Thursday, January 10, 2008
Over 31 million wireless-ready laptop computers were purchased in this country alone last year. Estimates indicate that more people will buy laptops than desktop computers in the US in 2008. This begs the question: should you replace your old, cranky giant of a desktop computer with a laptop or just swap it for another desktop computer?
For someone who travels (for business or pleasure), has two residences (snowbird or sunbird), or is a serious photographer (wanting to store and edit digital photos while on a trip), a laptop makes a lot of sense. For use in one location, a laptop can be a space saver compared with a desktop and a monitor. Decent laptops have become more affordable. Moderately priced laptops (in the $500 to $800 range) have as much capability as comparably priced desktops. Their self-contained display screen eliminates the need for an external monitor.
Before you buy that slick-looking laptop featured in a glossy flyer from a local computer store or vendor, here are a few caveats to consider. Laptops are vulnerable to damage when dropped or mishandled. If you’re a klutz, get a good carrying case for lugging it around. Any liquid spilled into a laptop’s keyboard may short circuit the delicate electronics just below the keyboard. Repair or replacement of key laptop parts; such as the hard drive, motherboard, DVD/CD player, and LCD screen is more expensive than desktop parts. An extended repair contract may be good insurance.
The Touch Pad can be more difficult to use than a mouse; consider adding an external USB or wireless mouse for pointing and clicking. Fully charged Lithium batteries will run a laptop for many hours before having to be recharged. They do get warm and require ventilation. A spare battery is a good idea if you travel, but is a $135 and up expense. And the weight of a laptop goes up with the size of its screen.
One afternoon last week, not only was the PC Workshop busy with visitors using many of its 33 computers but also five more visitors were surfing the Internet and checking their email with their own laptops. This is made possible by a wireless router connected to the Workshop’s local network; which turns the area into a Wi-Fi hotspot.
If you do buy a laptop, bring it to the PC Workshop to make me jealous.
Norm Salzberg, ns@fea.net.
The following article was published in the Laguna Woods Globe on Thursday, December 27, 2007
If you haven’t made any resolutions for the New Year, here are a few to increase your Joy of Computing for 2008:
Save important word documents, spreadsheets, photos, e-mail address book, and browser favorites to an external memory device such as a CD-ROM or flash drive; hard drives don’t last forever.
Make list of web site ID’s and passwords for e-mail, bank, broker, credit card and shopping accounts; store the list in a safe place.
Delete temporary Internet files, cookies, and old e-mails (sent, received, and deleted) and empty the Recycle Bin periodically.
Never respond to an e-mail requesting personal information, no matter how authentic the sender and his message appears. No bank or business does this.
Keep anti-virus and anti-spyware programs up to date.
Use the Firefox browser, available from mozilla.com, rather than Internet Explorer, for more secure browsing.
Use WPA (WiFi Protected Access) security when setting up a wireless router.
Switch from dial-up Internet service to high-speed broadband access via cable or DSL.
Open a free e-mail account with Yahoo or Google to have an alternate address for completing applications, registrations, reservations, and shopping transactions.
When traveling, don’t forget to pack your laptop’s power pack and its AC power cord; replacement power cords are available at Radio Shack stores if necessary.
To avoid turning your laptop into road kill, never place it on top of a car when packing luggage and getting passengers aboard.
At least once a month, run a laptop on battery to keep it in good condition.
Dispose of toxic electronic waste (dead computers, monitors, scanners, printers, TV sets, etc.) by calling the Laguna Woods City Hall to arrange for a pick up; don’t put e-waste in a trash bin or dumpster.
Donate working equipment to a charity organization.
Use snopes.com to verify urgent e-mail warnings before forwarding them to everyone in your address book; most are hoaxes, even if they claim to have been checked by snopes.
Use Bcc: (Blind Carbon Copy) when sending or forwarding e-mail to people who don’t know each other.
Join or renew membership in the PC or Mac Club and enroll in a class in the PC or Mac Learning Center; my Internet & E-mail class still has openings for the January semester.
Wishing you safe surfing, Joy of Computing, and a Happy New Year,
Norm Salzberg, ns@fea.net.
The following article was published in the Laguna Woods Globe on Thursday, December 13, 2007
How long does it take for a computer to become decrepit and obsolete? That depends on how it is used and abused, as well as what you want to do with it. New computers boot up quickly, open programs fast and operate without any glitches, error messages or freeze ups. It’s downhill from then on. Similar to the “rule-of-thumb” of one “Dog Year” equals seven human years, computers age on a 15 to 1 ratio of human years to each computer year. After a computer lasts five years, the aging ratio drops rapidly. A five-year old computer compares to an average 75 year-old. After that, either one or both may become geriatric cases.
When a computer becomes sluggish, balky, cranky or infected, it’s time to consider either replacing it, or cleaning it up, upgrading it, or having someone reformat the hard drive and reinstall the operating system and needed applications and utilities. Whether it is economical to invest a lot of money in an old computer is a tough call when old hard drives, motherboards and power supplies can fail any time. New programs and some web sites may require features not available in older computers, rendering them obsolete. For example, the Kodak Picture Gallery no longer displays photos on Internet Explorer Browsers earlier that Version 6.0.
I was happy to hear that my brother finally scrapped his Windows 95 computer and dial-up Internet service for a new wireless ready Laptop. He took it to his winter home in Florida and switched to high-speed Internet access. Now, his e-mails are finally readable. My PC is rapidly approaching its fifth birthday and still boots up faster than I do in the morning. Of course, my computer has been well maintained and is protected by firewalls, anti-virus and anti spyware programs, and the Firefox browser. I see no need to replace it with a Vista system. To-date, it has downloaded over 100 Windows XP security patches from Microsoft.
The PC Club has reorganized its education staff and will resume classes in the Justin Webb Learning Center starting January 14, 2008. The five-week courses include Basic, Intermediate, Word Processing, Internet and E-mail, and Picasa. Picasa is a free program from Google that lets you organize photos in an album and provides sophisticated image editing tools.
Norm Salzberg, ns@fea.net.
The following article was published in the Laguna Woods Globe on Thursday, November 29, 2007
“Office 2007 for Dummies” is over 780 pages and costs $29.95. Is it necessary to read so many pages in order to use a new version of Microsoft’s Office programs? Even for those proficient with Word, Excel and PowerPoint in a previous version, such as of Office 2003, 2000, or 97, the answer is “yes.” Microsoft redesigned the user interface to Office. Traditional Menus have been replaced by a configuration of ’Ribbons’ displaying the tools and options previously found in Pull-Down Menus. There are separate Ribbons for Fonts, Format, Tools, Editing, etc. The rationale for this radical departure is to make all the features of these programs more accessible. If you’re not the type to experiment until you find what you want, the Dummies book will help you. However, there is another option.
Recognizing the need for a product to help those not interested in changing their ways, an independent design company developed “Classic Menu.” It’s a small Add-on program that lets you use Word, Excel and PowerPoint the way you always did, by restoring the Menu Bar in Office 2007. Classic Menu can be downloaded from www.addintools.com. Addintools allows a two-week trial period before requiring you to purchase the program for $29.95, the same price as the Dummies book.
Office 2007 documents are not downward compatible with earlier versions of Office unless they are saved using a new Save-As option. This feature saves Word documents and Excel spreadsheets in a format compatible with Office 2003 and earlier versions. This eliminates problems previously incurred when transferring files to users who do not have the latest version of Office.
As far as I know, there are no Dummies books covering Office Chairs or Surge Suppressors, two topics discussed in my last column. A reader told me about a chair cushion that adjusts to specific seating needs and unique body shapes. It allows him to sit comfortably at his computer for hours. The ROHO QUADTRO SELECT Cushion sells for $400. Visit www.rohoinc.com/medical/quadtro.jsp for more information. Another reader wanted to know where to find a good surge suppressor. A $19.95 Belkin 7 Outlet unit, available at our local Office Max, is more than adequate. It is rated at 2320 Joules.
Although not a true Dummies book, Ventriloquism for Dummies is available at amazon.com.
Norm Salzberg, ns@fea.net.
The following article was published in the Laguna Woods Globe on Thursday, November 15, 2007
Computers, as well as flat screen TV’s, are high on shopping lists for the coming holiday season, according to market surveys. Off-the-shelf PC’s come with Microsoft’s Windows Vista Home or Premium operating system and lots of “junkware.” Although Vista has improved security features, if you need a new computer and want to stay with a perfectly good operating system, there are independent vendors still building Windows XP units. They can also transfer ownership of Windows XP from your old PC to the new one, saving you Microsoft’s portion of the cost of a new computer.
Custom-built computers do not have the “junkware” that is packed into name-brand models. Personal computers sold in stores are preloaded with trialware for anti-virus, word processing, photography, tools, and game programs. There are also ads for Internet Service Providers, music downloads and other merchandising. This junk slows down a computer’s start up and robs processing power by running in the background. You either have to remove unwanted stuff, order a more expensive business model, or buy from a local entrepreneur.
Whether you buy a new computer or keep your present system, here are a few accessories worth adding or updating. Most important is a good surge suppressor. When power outages occur, the line voltage may spike (before the blackout) - burning out power supplies, modems, routers and other sensitive (and expensive) electronic devices. The energy-absorbing capability of a surge suppressor is measured in joules, the higher - the better. Good units have ratings above 1500 joules and sell for $19.95. They should also have a short response time and voltage clipping at about 300 volts. Surges can occur when lightning strikes a power line or when a power distribution transformer fails.
Another important accessory is an adjustable chair. Good office chairs will relieve strain on your back, neck and eyes. The chair height should be set so you are sitting with the monitor screen at eye level and the screen tilted for best viewing. The backrest should be adjusted to support your back. The best chairs have adjustable lumbar supports. And, if you haven’t switched to an optical mouse, now is the time to eliminate the erratic motion of a dust-collecting conventional mouse. Now you’ll be able to write long email messages and play solitaire in comfort.
Norm Salzberg, ns@fea.net.
The following article was published in the Laguna Woods Globe on Thursday, November 1, 2007
At the last PC Club general meeting, guest speaker Paul Quaranto, President of West Coast Internet, said he never turned off his personal computer - unless he was taking an extended vacation. This practice is at odds with recommendations to turn off computers when not in use and definitely at night. To leave it on, or not to leave it on, that is the question.
Actually, it doesn’t make much difference with today’s equipment: hard drives are more reliable than earlier models; adequate ventilation keeps power supplies and CPU’s cool; and power management controls will turn off monitors and hard drives, and put a system in Standby after a specified period of time. Some systems have Sleep and Hibernate modes to save power, especially laptop computers. All it takes is some mouse or keyboard activity to bring an inactive computer back to life. Turning off a computer will save slightly more energy than leaving it on with a power control sequence.
Problems with leaving a computer on include dust collection on intake grills and fan blades and the possible failure of a fan, especially in low-cost computers. The resultant loss of cooling can cause the central processor chip to burn up. Another concern with leaving a computer on is degradation, sometimes called memory leakage, with prolonged use. When programs freeze or functions become disabled, you will have to restart the computer to restore its configuration anyway.
One concern about repeated on-off cycling of a computer is thermal stress to circuits and hard drives. This goes back to the days of vacuum tubes and is not a problem with today’s parts and circuits. The 33 computers in the PC Workshop are turned on every morning and turned off every evening with out incurring any failures. Another concern is the waiting time for a system to boot up from a cold start. If your system takes more than three minutes to get to the Desktop, some maintenance is needed. Leaving a computer on also makes it more vulnerable to power surges.
To find the power options available in Windows XP, go to Control Panel and open the Display Window. Select the Screen Saver tab when the Display Properties window opens and click on the Power button to find options for the monitor and hard drive.
Norm Salzberg, ns@fea.net.
The following article was published in the Laguna Woods Globe on Thursday, October 18, 2007
Basic keyboard shortcuts will save you grief when using new Microsoft products. Case in point is Office 2007. Microsoft designers have reformatted the Menu and Tool Bars for Word 2007 (and other recently released programs). The convenient pull-down Menus of previous versions of Word are no longer available. The Menu Bar has been replaced by an array of Tabs. The Cut, Copy, Paste and Select All options that were found in the Edit Menu are now scattered into sections of the Tool Bar displayed under the Home Tab. Other Tabs are Insert, Page Layout and Review. Font options are located under the Home Tab.
To find the Print, Save, Open and other options previously listed under the File Menu you have to click on a large, round Icon called the Office Button in the upper left corner of the screen. A small circle with a Question Mark in it, located in the upper right corner of the screen, replaces the Help Menu. Instead of frustrating yourself searching for Menu commands and options, use keyboard shortcuts to edit, save, print, etc.
Keyboard shortcuts have not changed since the days of Windows 3.1 and Word 95. They work in Word, Excel, Outlook Express and many non-Microsoft programs. Shortcuts are explained in basic primers including handouts from the PC Club’s Learning Center courses, as well as in How-To books and “Whatever For Dummies” books. Lists of shortcuts using the Alt, Ctrl and Windows Logo key can also be found by searching Google, Yahoo or Ask.
Edit shortcuts are big time savers. Hold down the Ctrl key and press one of the following keys to execute edit commands: Ctrl + A for Select All; Ctrl + X for Cut; Ctrl + C for Copy; Ctrl + V for Paste; Ctrl + Z for Undo. Do not use the shift key to capitalize the command letters, that’s the way they appear on the Keyboard. Mac computers use the Command key rather than the Ctrl key. The V key is used for Paste because the P key is used for the Print command, Ctrl +P.
To get familiar with Office 2007’s Word, Excel and Power Point programs, try one of the Windows Vista Home Premium Operating System computers recently installed in the PC Workshop.
Norm Salzberg, ns@fea.net.
The following article was published in the Laguna Woods Globe on Thursday, October 4, 2007
An annoying pop-up window was the subject of a recent email. Persistent pop-ups claimed that a resident’s computer was infected with Spyware, and the solution was to purchase Spy Shredder, a program to remove the infection. What should he do? Not familiar with this utility, I googled “Spy Shredder.” Several links returned by Google described this product as worse than the problem it claimed to remove. It actually installed spyware; who would of guessed?
Spyware is one category of malicious programs surreptitiously installed in computers by hackers. Sometimes called Trojan Horses, these programs run in the background of unsuspecting users’ computers. They can turn a computer into a remotely controlled zombie that is then rented out to spammers. Other versions record keyboard strokes in order to report passwords and other personal information to a hacker. A lesser variant of Spyware is Adware; these infections force pop-up windows advertising junk like Spy Shredder, as well as do other nasty things.
Fortunately, the resident was able to stop the Spy Shredder adware by searching his computer and deleting its presence from several locations on his hard-drive. How it got into his computer is a mystery. Accidentally clicking on a web page ad or opening email could have done it. One of the anti-spyware programs discussed in my last column might have stopped it. Another way to keep out of trouble is to install SiteAdvisor, a free program from McAfee. To quote McAfee: “This little tool will flag web links and sites that are known to contain Adware and Spyware. MIT engineers who wanted to make the Web safer for their family and friends developed SiteAdvisor. Having spent one too many holidays trying to clean a mess of spam, adware, and spyware from families' computers, they developed SiteAdvisor.”
Visit www.mcafee.com and click on the link to Home and Small Business to find the free download option in the resulting page. Once installed, SiteAdvisor displays Green, Yellow and Red flags next to web links to indicate their relative safety. Opened web page safety is shown by a color band on the status bar. Visit Red and Yellow web sites at your own risk.
Grisoft’s free anti-virus and anti-spyware programs, and McAfee’s free SiteAdvisor help protect my home computer; what are you using?
Norm Salzberg, ns@fea.net.
The following article was published in the Laguna Woods Globe on Thursday, September 20, 2007
West Coast Internet president, Paul Quaranto, answered residents’ questions about spam (unsolicited email) at last week’s Broadband Services Committee meeting. Of the millions of emails sent daily, the majority are some form of unwanted advertising (usually fraudulent), outright scams, and “phishing” attempts to deceive unwary users into revealing personal and financial information. Paul explained how West Coast, and other Internet providers, use filters to block known sources of spam and block individual emails containing recognizable fingerprints of spam. Because there’s money to be made, spammers use every trick available, and invent new ones daily, to defeat or by-pass spam filters. That’s why a few ads may show up in your Inbox each day.
Interestingly, West Coast uses different sets of anti-virus and spam filters for their comline.com and fea.net mail servers. Paul recommended people use Outlook (furnished with Microsoft’s Office suites) or Mozilla’s Thunderbird mail program rather than Outlook Express. Both have more security features. Other tips included: using an email ID with numbers as well as letters; never allowing a business to send special offers, newsletters, etc., when shopping online; having active, up-to-date anti-virus and anti-spyware programs; and allowing Microsoft to update Windows. For those who use their computer mainly for email, Paul did not see the need for an external firewall (router); the Windows XP firewall should be enough protection.
The latest issue of PC World magazine reviewed anti-spyware programs. They rated PC Tools Spyware Doctor 5.0 as the Best-Buy. Visit www.pctools.com/spyware-doctor to download a trial version. There is a $30 charge to keep it. In second place, Grisoft’s free AVG Anti-Spyware 7.0 program. Visit www.free.grisoft.com to download this companion to their free Anti-Virus program. There is no annual renewal charge for Grisoft’s free tools. Webroot’s SpySweeper 5.5 program has been downgraded to third place. And Microsoft’s Windows Defender 1.1 program, included with their Vista operating system, comes in a poor fourth. Defender is good for detecting AdWare but not Spyware.
The last Joy of Computing column listed a phone number as well as my email address, ns@fea.net. The phone number was the Globe’s office in the Community Center. As a freelance writer (no pay), I don’t work there. If you want to ask me a question or make a suggestion for a future column, please email it to me.
Norm Salzberg, ns@fea.net.