Welcome to this week's edition of the Computer Kindergarten Newsletter.
Today is Sunday, January 17, 2010
In this Issue:
Special Feature: How to Spot and Avoid a Scareware or ID Theft Protection Scam
Tips & Tricks: Access Your Desktop Instantly
Special Feature: A Donor's Guide to International Emergencies
This Week's Topic: Speed Up a Slow Computer - Uninstall Unused Programs
Question: Printing Sideways
Websites of Interest: Martin Luther King Jr.; Best Websites of 2009; Typing; Find a Stain Solution
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Special Feature: How to Spot and Avoid a Scareware or ID Theft Protection Scam
The following is from scambusters.org
Protection scam artists are making a fortune, cashing in on our fears about computer security. They're pumping out scareware programs in the thousands, firing up bogus warnings claiming our PCs have been infected with viruses and then demanding a fee to remove them.
Others send out protection messages, dishonestly claiming they can improve our online security, offer credit protection and reduce the risk of identity theft.
Please visit our newsletter archives to read last week’s article on Scareware:
http://computerkindergarten.com/011010.html
Identity Theft Protection Scams
These take a number of forms, the three most common of which are:
1. You get a protection spam which appears to come from a legitimate source. A famous recent example was use of the "Verified by Visa" tag in a message that invited users to register for this scheme (which does actually exist) by clicking a link that took them to a spoof page where they were supposed to list all their credit card details!
Genuine ID protection companies don’t spam, so never respond to such messages. Instead, if you're interested, do your own search; look for established reputable companies.
2. You get an email or telesales call telling you your name has come up on a list of potential ID theft targets, or even that your online identity has been compromised.
Often, the caller or email author will claim to have a security-related title, like "inspector" and will offer you protection for a fee -- usually $299.
Again, this is bogus. Everyone is a potential ID theft target.
If your information was on a stolen laptop or other compromised device, you will be contacted through snail mail, not by email or phone -- and you will often be given some free service protection (rather than be asked to buy protection).
3. Someone offers to remove your personal details from the Internet, thereby reducing the risk of identity theft.
This is a "no-can-do" protection scam. You cannot erase all of your personal details from the myriad sources, many of them public records, available on the Internet. Don't believe anyone who says otherwise.
Protection scam tricks aren't going to disappear anytime soon, so make sure you take the steps outlined above to take care of yourself.
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Tips & Tricks: Access Your Desktop Instantly
Hold down the Windows key and press the d key. All open windows will hide and you will be able to see the Desktop. Press Windows-D again to return to where you were.
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Special Feature: A Donor's Guide to International Emergencies
The following article is from about.com
The only people who actually benefit from a natural disaster are the scam artists, who turn out in droves to dupe the well-intentioned. Don't be fooled. This is the safe way to donate.
We all want to help but are sometimes confused about how to determine what charitable organizations are helping with what emergencies, and decide where our donations should go. The most frequent questions we get about charitable organizations are, "How do I know if an organization is legitimate?" and "How do I report a possible fraudulent nonprofit?"
Start first with safety. Do not let your gift fall into the hands of an organization that is at best poorly run and at worst fraudulent. Here is some help in sorting out which organizations are legit and which are not:
The IRS provides a "search" for IRS approved charities. Don't stop there, however. Even if your charity is listed, you may need to hunt further to get information about how effective and efficient the charity is.
http://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=96136,00.html
You may also verify an organization's tax-exempt status and eligibility to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions by asking to see an organization's IRS letter recognizing it as tax-exempt, or you may call the IRS (toll-free) at 1-877-829-5500.
Charity Navigator ranks charities based on their IRS forms to reveal which charities do the most good with your donations. Any charity that does not spend at least 65 percent of its budget directly on its mission should be suspect.
http://www.charitynavigator.org/
GuideStar.org lists 1.5 million nonprofits in its database, all of which have met IRS criteria for exempt organizations.
http://www2.guidestar.org/
Give.org is a division of the Better Business Bureau. The BBB Wise Giving Alliance provides information about charities, publishes a quarterly guide to wise giving, and provides a national charity seal that charities can display on their websites and in their fundraising materials. Give.org also provides a way for you to complain about a charity should you feel you've been misled.
http://www.bbb.org/us/charity/
Your state attorney general's office is responsible for investigating fraud, including fraudulent practices of nonprofits or groups that claim to be nonprofits. If you have a complaint against a nonprofit in your state, this is the place to go. The National Association of Attorneys General maintains a list of each state's Attorney General with contact information.
http://www.naag.org/
When in doubt, stick to tried and true charities such as the American Red Cross, Mercy Corps, or CARE.
http://www.redcross.org/
http://www.mercycorps.org/
http://www.care.org/
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Today's Topic: Speed Up a Slow Computer - Uninstall Unused Programs
As your Windows computer ages, its speed can decrease. You will notice an increase in response time when you give commands to open programs, files or folders, use the Internet and other tasks. There are several things you can do to speed up your computer.
Over the next several editions of this newsletter, we will present articles discussing some of the steps you can take to speed up your slow computer.
Important: before making any changes to your system, always create a Restore Point. If anything goes wrong with the changes you make, this will allow you to revert back to a point when the computer was operating correctly. Please visit our Newsletter Archives to read our article, All About Restore Points:
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/040509.html
Uninstall Unused Programs
When you install a program on your computer, a connection is created between the program and the operating system. Even if you never use the program, it can slow down the computer.
Your computer may have programs on it that you installed and no longer use or programs that came packaged with it that you never even opened. Instead of allowing them to slow things down, get rid of them.
Uninstalling a Program in Windows Vista / 7
The uninstall feature in Windows XP and Vista are somewhat similar. In Vista, click the Start Orb (bottom left) and open Control Panel. Click Control Panel Home on the left.
Under Programs, click on Uninstall a program. This will open the Uninstall or change a program window. It may take a few moments to completely populate the list.
Once all the programs are listed, scroll down and find the one you want to uninstall. Click on it to select it. Once you select it, you will see the word Uninstall appear on the blue bar above the list of programs. Click it. Windows will display a box asking for your permission to continue. Click the Continue button.
Another window should display asking you if you want to uninstall the program. Click Yes. The uninstall wizard will start up, and begin to uninstall. Depending on the program that you are uninstalling, the uninstall wizard may ask you to click OK at steps throughout the process. Just follow the instructions on the screen.
This will remove the program from your computer.
Uninstalling a Program in Windows XP
Click the Start button, choose Control Panel, choose Add or Remove Programs.
Select the program to be removed; click the remove button. Depending on the program you select to be removed, you may be prompted to confirm the removal, or Windows Uninstaller Wizard may just start up to begin the uninstallation.
Uninstalling a Program with the Program’s Uninstall Function
Many programs come with their own uninstall program that will quickly remove programs from your computer. Some installers do not put their program on the Add/Remove list, so your next place to look is in the Start menu.
Find the that program in All Programs in the Start menu and see if there is an item called Uninstall. If so, click on it and the Uninstaller will run. Follow any prompts that appear on the screen.
In our next edition, learn how to speed up your computer by turning off programs that start up automatically.
Please visit our Newsletter Archives for previous articles in our Speed Up a Slow Computer series:
Speed Up a Slow Computer - Clean the Desktop
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/040509.html
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Question: Printing Sideways
Question: I would like to print sideways on a page. How can I do this?
Answer:
To print sideways rather than top-to-bottom, you will have to change the orientation setting from Portrait to Landscape. In most programs, the default setting is Portrait. Many programs (not all) will allow you to change to Landscape printing.
To change the page orientation to landscape, follow these steps:
Click File on the menu and then click Page Setup. You will see the Page Setup dialog box.
The Orientation setting can be found in the Page Setup Dialog box. In many cases, you will see the Portrait and Landscape choices as soon as you open the Page Setup box. If you do not see those choices, look for tabs at the top of the box. Click on each tab until you find the Portrait and Landscape choices.
Once you find Portrait and Landscape, click the small circle or box to the left of Landscape to choose that orientation. Click the OK button.
When you print, the document will now print sideways.
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Websites of Interest:
Martin Luther King Jr.
On Monday, January 17, we observe the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. At our website, you will find many interesting and informative links to visit.
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/mlk.html
Best Websites of 2009
From Time magazine online, here’s their list of the top 50:
http://tinyurl.com/nkngyx
From PC Magazine, their top 100:
http://tinyurl.com/lx7quh
Typing
Klava is a simple website that lets you test your typing speed and accuracy online.
http://www.klava.org/
Find a Stain Solution
Find quick, step-by-step cleaning instructions from the experts at Tide
http://www.tide.com/en-US/stains/top-stains.jspx