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Welcome to this week's edition of the Computer Kindergarten Newsletter.
Today is Sunday, January 6, 2008
In this Issue:
Special Feature: Home Improvement Scams
Special Feature: Top Ten Scams of 2007
Tips & Tricks: Don’t Let Your Printer Ink Cartridge Dry Out
This Week's Topic: Windows Service Packs
Question: Program Version Numbers
Websites of Interest: Elvis’ Birthday; Silent Era; Back Support; Census Info; Pie Recipes; New Years Resolutions
A MESSAGE TO OUR READERS:
We’ve gotten hundreds of emails over the last few weeks thanking us for our articles on computer safety and online and offline scams and hoaxes. We wish we had the time to answer each one. We appreciate your thanks!
Here at Sharper Training Solutions, one of the things we are very dedicated to is educating all of our friends as to the identity theft, scams and computer dangers that can be out there. We’ve found that some of these scams can be pretty clever and can easily fool most of us. Because of that, we encourage you to read these articles very well and to pass on our newsletter articles to your friends and family to educate them as well.
And don’t forget, you can always email us with any questions or issues you may encounter.
Stay safe out there !
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Special Feature: Home Improvement Scams
Complaints against home improvement contractors are one of the most common complaints consumer organizations and federal consumer agencies receive. Many homeowners are very vulnerable because they don't know much about home repair or home improvements.
The Federal Trade Commission offers advice to help people spot and avoid some of the more frequently seen home improvement scams:
- Don't agree to a home equity loan if you don't have enough money to make the monthly payments.
- Don't sign any document you haven't read or any document that has blank spaces to be filled in after you sign.
- Don't allow anyone to pressure you into signing any document.
- Don't ever deed your property to anyone. First consult an attorney.
- Don't agree to financing through your contractor without shopping around and comparing loan terms.
You can find out more about the home improvement scam at the FTC website:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/services/homeimpv.shtm
According to scambusters.org, the Chimney Repair scam is one of the most frequently seen scams. You hire a company to clean your chimney and after finishing the job the worker tells you your chimney is in dire need of repair. Since most people will not climb up on their roof to see if this is true or not, many fall victim to this scam.
You can find more on chimney repair and cleaning scams here:
http://www.scambusters.org/chimneyrepair.html
For more information and good tips on how to work with contractors and avoid home improvement scams, visit the AskTheBuilder website.
http://www.askthebuilder.com
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Special Feature: Top Ten Scams of 2007
According to the Federal Trade Commission, over 30 million Americans have been targeted by scams. Visit comsumeraffairs.com to learn about these scams so that you will never be tricked by them.
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2007/12/top_ten_scams.html
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Tips & Tricks: Don’t Let Your Printer Ink Cartridge Dry Out
The ink in the printer cartridge can dry out if you don’t print very often. Print something every now and then just to keep the ink flowing in the cartridge. A print job once a week or so will keep the ink fresh.
Also clean the print heads every once in awhile. These can get clogged with dried up ink if you have not used the printer for awhile. Remove the cartridges and wipe the contacts with a soft, lint-free cloth.
These quick maintenance tasks will increase the life span of your cartridges and, as expensive as they can be, probably save you some money, too.
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Today's Topic: Windows Service Packs
Question: My son says I should install the latest Windows service pack. What does this mean?
Answer:
A service pack (SP) is a term used by Microsoft referring to software updates for their products. It is usually a collection of updates, bug fixes, enhancements and improved features that is contained in one software package. It is usually a free download as part of the system updates Microsoft makes available on a regular basis, as part of their commitment to continuous improvement.
Since service packs will fix and increase the security on your system, you should install the latest one available for your version of Windows.
You can download Windows XP Service Packs at the Microsoft website:
Service Pack 1
http://tinyurl.com/2nfo7
Service Pack 2
http://tinyurl.com/3upjr
Microsoft has recently released a beta version of the Windows Vista Service Pack 1. The final version is expected to be released sometime during or after the first quarter of 2008.
A word of caution: A popular scam opens a window in the middle of your screen, informing you of an available and necessary Microsoft update. If you do what this window tells you to do, you will download a virus or some form of malicious software onto your computer.
Your computer will notify you of legitimate Microsoft service packs and system updates by displaying a message down by the system tray (bottom right, by the clock). That is the only place you will see this message displayed. If you see anything else, simply ignore it and close the window.
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Question: Program Version Numbers
I need to know the version of a program I have. How can I find that information?
Answer:
To find the version number of a program, click Help on the menu and then click About.
This will open a window which will display the version number along with other information.
Here is an example of a version number: 3.2.1. The first number, 3 in our example, is the major version number. Generally, this number is updated only if there have been significant changes to a program.
The next number, 2, is changed when there is a minor update to the program, usually when a feature or two has been added.
The third number, 1, is changed when there has been a repair to a bug in the program.
Some programmers will use letters instead of numbers to indicate minor updates and bug fixes.
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Websites of Interest:
Elvis’ Birthday
Tuesday is Elvis’ birthday. Visit the official website here.
http://www.elvis.com/
Silent Era
This website pays tribute to the silent movies and the actors and actresses who starred in them.
http://www.silentera.com/
Back Support
All that time in front of the computer can give you back pain, tight shoulders, leg aches and more. Visit this website for tips on stretches, exercises, proper sitting positions and all kinds of helpful information.
http://tinyurl.com/2kev9y
Census Info
Are you interested in statistics about your town? Or any town in the U.S. If you are, visit this website for census information such as demographics, statistics on income and education, and much more.
http://zipskinny.com
Pie Recipes
Do you like pies? Or baking them? Visit this website for almost 1,500 pie recipes.
http://tinyurl.com/2oh2ly
New Years Resolutions
How are your resolutions going so far? Visit this website for tips and help on keeping your resolutions and making them work for you.
http://www.mygoals.com/about/NewYearsTips.html
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