Get a UPS
Buy a combination UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply)
and
surge protector for your computer. Surge protectors alone will protect
your computer from power spikes, but just as much damage can be done by
brownouts. A UPS contains a battery that keeps power steady, and
usually costs under $100.
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Save Your
Eyes
Set your CRT monitor's refresh frequency above 70 Hertz.
Under
70 Hertz, the flickering of the monitor is noticeable to most human
eyes (if you're not sure, turn your head and look at the outside edge
of your monitor - you'll notice the flickering out of the corner of
your eye).
Right-click on the desktop, select Properties, then
click on
the Settings tab. Click the Advanced button, then set the frequency on
the Monitor tab.
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Back Up
Your Email in Outlook
You can create a backup file called a ".pst" (personal
folder file) by doing this:
- Open Outlook and switch to the email view.
- Click on the File menu, and
select Import and Export.
- Select Export to a File, and
click Next.
- Select Personal Folder File (.pst),
and click Next.
- In the next window, click on the file you want to
back
up. If you want to back up your entire folder structure, click on the
top-level Personal Folders file. Make sure the Include
Subfolders box at the bottom is checked, then click Next.
- Click on the Browse button to
select the
location where you want to store the backup, and type a name for the
backup file. Select your preference for dealing with duplicates, then
click the Finish button.
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2 Gb
Outlook Files Will Corrupt Your Data!
If you have Outlook XP, 2000, or 97, pay close attention
to
the size of your Outlook files. If one of your ".pst" files (the file
that Outlook uses to hold all your data) is getting close to 2 Gb in
size, STOP USING IT RIGHT NOW, and split it into smaller files. Once
the .pst file reaches 2 Gb in size, it will immediately become
corrupted and unusable, and you will lose data. There is no Microsoft
tool that will restore your lost data, and their recover technique
isn't effective. This problem doesn't affect Outlook 2003 or later.
Check the size of your .pst files by searching your hard
drives for *.pst (you may have more than one .pst file). Be sure
Windows is also searching for hidden and system files. Windows 2000
will automatically search for them, but you need to set this under
Advanced Options in the Windows XP search panel.
You can split up your .pst file by selecting folders and
exporting them to a new .pst (using the technique from the January
newsletter). Then, you can import the new .pst file, and delete the
duplicate information from the old one.
If it's too late for you, and your Outlook has already
died,
give us a call at (403) 692-2255. We have a tool that may be able to
restore at least some of your lost information.
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Just in
Time!
With 2007's change in daylight saving time, you may need
to
take special measures to keep your computer clock in synch with the
current time. If you have Windows XP, service pack 2 on your computer,
and if your automatic updates are turned on, Microsoft says you
"should" be OK. That said, I'd be inclined to double-check your
computer time, both on Sunday, March 11th, and again on Sunday, April 1
(when the original daylight savings would kick in).
If you don't meet the above conditions, or if your time
seems wonky, here's what you can do:
- On Sunday, March 11th, right-click on the system time
(displayed in the bottom right corner of your screen).
- From the popup menu, select Adjust Date
and
Time.
- On the Time Zone tab, uncheck
the
box beside Automatically Adjust Clock for Daylight Savings
changes. Click Apply.
- On the Date and Time tab, reset
the time, then click Apply, and OK.
Remember, you'll have to manually reset your time again
the fall.
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Outlook
Deletes Your Emails
By default, when you first install Microsoft
Outlook®, it
is configured to "AutoArchive" every two weeks. AutoArchiving is
designed to keep your Outlook folders cleaned up, helping to avoid
large .pst files (like the ones mentioned in February's newsletter).
When Outlook AutoArchives, it removes outdated files from your .pst
file (by default, 6 months or older), and places them in a special
"archive.pst" file.
The problem is that its default setting is to
permanently
delete any emails that are over 6 months old instead of archiving them.
You can turn AutoArchiving off completely, or you can change the
setting so that older emails are archived instead of being deleted:
- Click on the Tools menu and
select Options.
- In Outlook 2003, click on the Other
tab, then click the AutoArchive button.
- In earlier versions of Outlook, click the AutoArchive
tab.
- To turn off AutoArchiving, uncheck the box beside Run
AutoArchive every __ days.
- To leave AutoArchiving on, but prevent it from
deleting
your emails, uncheck the box beside Delete
expired items (email folders only).
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Back
up Outlook Express®
Outlook Express stores each email folder as a separate
file.
The Address Book is stored in an entirely different place. Here's how
to find everything and back it up:
The emails are stored in C:\Documents and Settings\(Your
Name)\Local Settings\Application Data\Identities\(big long
number)\Microsoft\Outlook Express. There is a .DBX file corresponding
to each folder name. You'll want to make a copy of each .DBX file.
The address book is stored in C:\Documents and
Settings\(Your
Name)\Application Data\Microsoft\Address Book. You will see two files,
one with a .WAB file extension, and the other with a .WA~ extension.
You'll want to copy the one with the .WAB.
To back up these files:
- Click on the Start button.
- Right-click on My Computer, and select Explore.
- In the window that appears, double-click on My
Computer, then double-click on Local Disk C:.
- Double-click on each folder name in the same sequence
as it appears in the lists above.
- Make a copy of all the .DBX files, and the .WAB file.
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Is it a
virus ... or a hoax?
Sooner or later, you get the breathless email:
"Whatever you
do, watch out for this virus! It reformats your hard drive and you lose
all your data, and then it emails itself to all your friends and wipes
out their computers, too!"
Sound familiar? There are dozens, if not hundreds of
these
types of emails. And you're always afraid NOT to pass them on, just in
case...
Most of these emails are hoaxes. Their only purpose is
to get
people to clog the email systems by sending massive volumes of email
(remember the "send this to all your friends" part?). The problem is
that they can make people careless about real threats, and sometimes,
hackers will write a virus later with the same name as the original
hoax!
You can check to see whether these threats are for real
by going to one of the reputable anti-virus sites, like Symantec
(Norton Anti-virus) or McAfee, and searching by the name
of the virus or the title of the email.
The moral of the story: Never open an
email attachment unless you know what it is!
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Switch
Back To Your Desktop With a Single Click
If you work with multiple windows open, you may need to
go
back to your desktop to open another shortcut. It can be time-consuming
to minimize each window in turn to get back to the desktop.
Instead, look in the lower left corner of your screen to
the right of the Start
button. You'll see a row of little icons in the taskbar. If you move
your mouse pointer over each icon, you'll see a little text title popup
that tells you what each icon is.
Click on the Show Desktop button,
and all your windows will be minimized onto the taskbar at once, so
your desktop is visible.
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Have Fun
with Windows Movie Maker®
If you've got Windows XP or Vista, you own a
little-known tool
that makes super-cool slide show videos out of your photographs and/or
video clips. Windows Movie Maker lets you select photos and/or videos,
and put them together in a slide show, complete with music, fancy slide
transitions, title pages, and special effects.
Depending on what version of Windows you have, you may
find
Movie Maker in various locations, but click on the Start button, then
All Programs, and then Accessories, and start looking. Some versions of
Windows list Movie Maker directly under Accessories; others store it
under Communications or Entertainment.
Once you start up the program, you can import photos,
audio,
and videos. Drag photos, effects, and transitions into the Storyboard
view, then add music and control how long each slide or transition
displays in the Timeline view. When you're done making your movie, you
can save it to a file, send it by email, or burn it onto a DVD and play
it in any DVD player. One small caveat - Vista users may find unusual
bugs in the program, at least until Microsoft releases a service pack.
Just start playing - you'll be amazed at what you can
create! Can you say... Christmas gifts?
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When the
H*** do You Right-Click, Anyway?!?
A right-click is almost always used to bring up a pop-up
menu.
The items on the menu will be "context-sensitive", meaning that they
will apply specifically to the item you clicked on, and will vary
depending on where you right-clicked.
For example, if you right-click on a file in a file
list,
you'll get a popup menu that offers to let you open, edit, print, or
delete the file, and so on. Right-clicking in a Word document pops up a
menu that lets you change the font or format the paragraph, among other
options. Right-clicking on your Windows desktop pops up a menu that
lets you work with your desktop icons, or change your display
properties.
If you accidentally right-click, and an unwanted menu
pops up,
you can close the menu by left-clicking somewhere else, or else by
pressing the Esc key (in the top left corner of your keyboard).
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Be Courteous
When Sending Email to a List
If you send emails to a list of people, be courteous by
hiding
the recipients' addresses from each other. You do this by using the Bcc
field, or else by doing an email mail merge (if you have Word 2003 or
later). Either way, the recipient should only see their own address
when they open the email.
The simplest way is to start your email as usual. If you
have a Bcc field visible, you can click on the Bcc
button to add names directly to the Bcc field. If
it's not visible, click on the Cc button. (In
Outlook Express, these buttons aren't apparent; just click on the text
that says "Cc" with the little book icon beside
it). When the address list opens, you'll see that you have the option
to add names to a Bcc list instead of the To
or Cc list.
Some spam filters reject emails if they don't have at
least one To recipient, so add your own email
address to the To list to avoid getting bounced.
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Save What
You See on Your Screen
To save a copy of the screen you're working in, hold
down the
right-hand Alt and Ctrl keys on your keyboard, then press the Print
Screen button. This saves a copy of what is visible on your screen into
your Windows® clipboard (the same as a Copy command).
Open a graphics or word-processing program, and hold
down the
Ctrl key while you press V (or click the Edit menu and select Paste).
The image of your window will be pasted into your program. You can then
crop the image as needed.
Important: Images on websites are under
copyright
protection! It's illegal to copy and use a picture without the owner's
consent.
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Set
Up an Auto-Reply in Outlook®
If you're used to using Outlook in an office network,
chances
are you can use the Out Of Office Assistant to set up an auto-reply for
your email if you're going to be out of the office. But if you're using
a stand-alone version of Outlook, the Assistant isn't available. Now
what?
Here's what to do: Click on the Tools
menu, and select Rules and Alerts (or Message
Rules in earlier versions). In the dialog box that opens,
you'll see a little New Rule button in the top
left corner. When the Rules Wizard opens, select
the option to start from a blank rule. Then, work your way through the
wizard screens, clicking Next to move through
them.
You'll notice that you can select options in the top
pane, and
then set the parameters for the options in the bottom pane, by clicking
on the blue text links. Hint: If you're setting up an auto-reply, make
sure you set it to only reply to messages that come from people within
your contacts list. That way, you're not replying to spammers!
When your rule is done, you'll see it appear in the Rules
list. Check the box beside your new rule, and your auto-replies will
start immediately. To turn off the autoreply, just uncheck its box.
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Sort Files
by Date, Size, or Type
By default, files are sorted by name, but sometimes it
might
make more sense to see them sorted by date. In any Windows®
file
list, you can sort files by date from newest to oldest, or oldest to
newest. Here's how:
In the window that shows all your files, click on the View
menu at the top, and select Details.
This will show you all your files in a column at the left side, and
their properties in other columns. At the top of each column, you'll
see the column title: "Name", "Size", "Type", and "Date Modified". If
you click on the column title, the files will be sorted by that
property. To sort by date, click on "Date Modified".
By default, the files will be sorted in ascending order
(oldest to newest). You can reverse the sort order by clicking
on
the column title again. When you're ready to view your files
alphabetically again, just click on the "Name" column title.
You can use this technique to sort by name, date, file
type, or size - and it works on emails, too!
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Be Wary of
Free Anti-Spyware and Anti-Adware
If you’re surfing the net, be wary of free
programs that
offer to protect you from spyware and adware. Many of these
programs are actually spyware and adware in disguise! Some of these
programs are reputable, though, and can help protect you. If
you’re considering one of these programs, enter the name of
the
program in an internet search (Google, for example).
If you find good reviews of the software on multiple
sites,
particularly reputable ones like tucows.com, download
away! But if
you can’t find any references to the program, or if it gets
bad
reviews, look for a different one.
If you don’t feel safe using free software, Norton
and McAfee
both offer anti-spyware and anti-adware software for
sale. Either is a dependable choice.
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Protect
Yourself When Shopping Online
If you intend to shop online, get a separate credit card
with a low limit, and use it solely for internet purchases.
That way, if your online security is compromised, the
thief
won’t be able to make many purchases, and you can easily
cancel
the card without affecting the rest of your credit cards.
If a shopping site accepts Paypal, you can create a
Paypal
account that provides an extra layer of security. Purchases
using
Paypal are still charged to your credit card, but the credit card
number is not released online. Go to www.paypal.com
for more information about Paypal accounts.
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Talking to All
Your Gadgets
Now that many of us are trying to synchronize Palm and Blackberry
devices and other smartphones, the question arises: What
software
should I use?
Many of the devices come with their own software system, and also link
to Microsoft Outlook®, Act®, or other programs.
If you're just getting started and you don't already use a program for
your email and contacts, Microsoft Outlook® (part of Microsoft
Office®) is the safest choice. Don't confuse
Outlook®
with Outlook Express®, Windows Mail®, or Windows
Contacts®
- they look similar, but they don't do the same things.
Since Outlook® has been around for so long, almost all handheld
devices will link easily to it.
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Using Word
Count
If you write articles for publication, you know that
word
count is the top priority for your publisher! Let Microsoft
Word® do the work for you, with the Word Count feature.
To use it, use your mouse to select (highlight) the words you want to
count. Then, in Word® 2003, click on the Tools menu,
and
select Word Count.
In Word® 2007, it's even easier - just select the words, and
look
down in the bottom left corner of your document screen.
You'll
see "Words: 517/667". The number before the slash is the
number
of words you've selected. The number after the slash is the
total
number of words in the document.
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Gone Phishing?
By
now, most of us have heard the warnings from our banks. They
tell us that they'll never as for our information via email, and advise
us not to respond to any email requests for personal information.
Here's another scam, though - if you sell items online
using PayPal, you may receive an email that looks like the
standard notification of payment received. Here are two
warning signs: If the email is addressed "Dear (your email
address)", and if it asks you to log in to your PayPal account to take
possession of your funds, beware!
PayPal notifications will always be addressed to your first and last
name as they are listed in your PayPal account, never to your email
address. And if you've been notified of a payment, it should
appear in your PayPal account - there's no confirmation or acceptance
process.
Warning: Don't click on the link in the email to check your
PayPal account - it may capture your PayPal account password when you
log in.
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Find
Outlook® Email Conversations
We've all done it: emailed back and forth with
someone over several days, and then lost track of the one email in the
sequence that we really needed. Here's help:
You can organize your Outlook® emails by conversation (also called
"message thread"). Click on the folder that contains your
messages. Then, click on the View menu at the top of the
screen, then Arrange By, and select Conversation. Your folder
will rearrange itself into heading titles that are composed of the
subject line, and, in brackets, the number of emails that make up the
conversation. Under each heading are all the emails that are
part of the conversation.
To go back to the default view when you're done, click on the Received
header bar at the top of the folder window.
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Rotate a Batch of Photos
You've
just come back from an incredible vacation, and you've taken hundreds
of digital photos. They're now downloaded onto your computer,
but it's a tedious process to turn them all right-side up.
What now?
If you've got Windows XP or Vista, you can easily rotate a batch of
pictures all at one time:
- Navigate to the folder containing your pictures using
Windows Explorer,
or else click on the Start button, and then click on My Pictures.
- If you can't see thumbnails of your pictures when you
get to the
correct folder, click on the View menu, and select Thumbnails.
- Select all the pictures that need to be rotated the
same way (for
example, all the ones that need to be rotated 90 degrees clockwise).
Hint: To select more than one picture, hold down
the Ctrl key on your keyboard while you click on each picture in turn.
- Right-click on one of the selected photos.
- In the popup menu that appears, select Rotate
Clockwise or Rotate
Counterclockwise. All your selected photos will be rotated 90
degrees.
- Repeat as needed.
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