Welcome
to this week's edition of the Computer Kindergarten Newsletter.
Today is Sunday, January 31, 2010
In this Issue:
Special Feature: Census Scams
Special Feature: Facebook
This
Week's Topic: Speed Up a Slow
Computer – Turn Off Auto Start Programs - MSCONFIG
Question: Remove Duplicate Songs in
iTunes
Websites of Interest: February is
Black History Month; Groundhog Day; Allergic Child; Geognos;
Exercise Tracker
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Special
Feature: Census Scams
The
following article is from scambusters.org
Did
someone call at your home recently to ask questions about the upcoming US
Census? Maybe they wanted to know
if you had another home -- like a vacation place or a casita in the
backyard. That's fine. US Census
Bureau people have already been out door-stepping to verify addresses and other
info and will continue to do so over the next year.
The
Census is a count, every 10 years, of everyone living in the United States. It
is a confidential data gathering exercise which relies, in the main, on you
filling in a form, not telling it to someone over the threshold of your
property. The Bureau will mail out
the form in March. If you don't complete and return it, they'll send a second
one. If you still don't reply, they'll come knocking at your door.
They'll
want to know about every person living at each address including name, age,
gender, race, ethnic origin, birth date, marital status, employment status and other
relevant data. And you're legally obliged to tell them. But if they seem to be seeking more
detailed, personal information about you, be very wary. It could be a scam. Of
course, the scammers are hoping you won't know that and are already out in force.
Obviously,
it makes sense to return the form because, then, apart from the verification
process, the Bureau won't come calling.
So,
how can you tell if the person you're dealing with, face-to-face, on the phone
or by letter is genuine? Well, here
are a few clues:
*
Genuine census workers will not ask for your Social Security number or any
confidential, personal financial information like bank account and credit card
numbers.
*
They won't ask you for money or claim that you owe it.
*
The Census does not involve collection of data either by email or through
online websites; the Census Bureau may communicate with you via email but will
not ask for information or ask you to click a link or attachment.
*
Genuine Census workers carry official identification, a confidentiality notice
and, often, a handheld computer.
*
They won't ask to come into your home -- and don't invite them to do so.
For
more helpful information about the 2010 Census, visit the official Census site.
http://www.census.gov/
You
can find details about Census security and scams here.
http://www.census.gov/survey_participants/related_information/phishing_email_scams_bogus_census_web_sites.html
A small sample of people are legitimately asked
more detailed questions as part of the Census. So, if you have any questions
about whether a form or person is legitimate, you should contact your US Census
Bureau Regional Office.
http://www.census.gov/field/www/
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Special Feature: Facebook
Question: My grandchildren want me to use Facebook. Can
you help me get started?
Answer:
Facebook is the new way to communicate and can be a
lot of fun. It is a social
networking website where users create profiles that contain photos and lists of
personal interests, exchange messages, and join groups of friends.
Look
up relatives and send a friend request, or accept a friend request from someone
you know, and those people get added to your friend list. When they post anything on their
profile, you will be able to see it, and they will be able to see whatever you
post on your profile. This is a
great way to share news and photos with all of your friends at once. If you have anything personal to say to
just one person, that you do not want all of your friends to see, then you can
send a private message.
Old
friends can be found: list the high
school and college you went to, and you will see lists of people who you
graduated with. Send a friend
request and before you know it, you are catching up with friends from years
ago.
Here
are some informational websites that will help you get going with facebook:
The
first thing you will need to do is set up a facebook
account. Visit this website for the
steps:
http://www.ehow.com/how_2081063_set-up-facebook-account.html
Now
that you have your account set up, learn how to create your profile:
http://www.ehow.com/how_4464690_set-up-facebook-profile.html
This
website has many instructional videos that will help you maneuver around facebook. Learn
how to find and invite friends, add photos, join groups, use applications and
much more.
http://www.expertvillage.com/video-series/1261_facebook-use.htm
**********************************
Today's Topic: Speed Up a
Slow Computer – Turn Off Auto Start Programs -
MSCONFIG
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.
In
our ongoing series, Speed Up a Slow Computer, 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
Turn
Off Auto Start Programs - MSCONFIG
Every
program that is open and running slows the computer down. The more programs that are running, the
slower the computer will go. When you turn your computer on, many hidden
programs start up and run in the background. Some of these programs are essential,
but most are not. Turning off some of these hidden programs can significantly
increase your computer's performance and reliability.
Windows
has a special tool called the Microsoft System Configuration Utility or
MSCONFIG. It is designed to help troubleshoot computer problems but can also be
used to find and turn off some of the hidden programs that are not needed.
To
open MSCONFIG:
In
XP, click the Start button and click Run.
Type msconfig in the Open box. Click the OK button.
In
Vista, click the Start Orb. Click
in the Start Search box and type msconfig. MSCONFIG will appear in the search
results, at the top of the menu.
Click to open it. Vista will
ask for permission to continue; click to agree.
This
will open the Microsoft System Configuration Utility. Click the Startup tab at
the top of the window.
The
items in the list you now see are programs that open every time you turn on
your computer. Some startup programs are essential; many are not. The nonessential programs can be turned
off by clicking the box to the left of the item name. Once clicked, the checkmark will be
removed.
To
determine which items can be turned off and which must be left on, visit this
website:
http://www.sysinfo.org/startuplist.php
At
this site, most items in the startup list can be researched.
In
the System Configuration window, note the Command column to the right of the
item name column. The entry in this
column will be used to research whether that item can be turned off or should
be left on.
Increase
the size of the Command column. To do so, point to the vertical line between the Command and the
Location column headings.
The mouse pointer will change into a plus sign. When you see the plus sign, hold down the
left mouse button and drag the line to the right. This will increase the size of the
column. Increase the size of the
column so that each entry is completely displayed.
A
typical entry in that column will look something like this:
C:\Windows\system32\igfxtray.exe
igfxtray.exe is the filename and the part that will be
researched at the sysinfo.org website.
In
your System Configuration window, write down the filename of one of the items
you would like to research. Make
sure you write it down exactly as it appears. Go to the sysinfo.org website. Scroll down to the Search box, click in
it and then type the filename you wrote down. Click the Search button.
If
the website has information about the startup item, a description will be
displayed. The status column will
display one of these codes:
Y - Normally leave to run at
start-up
N - Not required or not
recommended - typically infrequently used tasks that can be started manually if
necessary
U - User's choice - depends
whether a user deems it necessary
X - Definitely not required -
typically viruses, spyware, adware and "resource hogs"
? - Unknown
If
a Y is displayed next to your item, leave it as is. If any of the other codes are noted, the
item can be turned off. In the
System Configuration window, click the box to the left of the item to remove
the check mark.
This
process can be done for each item in the System Configuration window. After you have finished, click the OK
button and then click Restart to restart the computer. When the computer restarts, a window
will open where you will confirm selective startup. Click to not show the window in the
future.
Note: It is recommended to turn off only one
or two items at a time, and then use the computer to make sure everything is
working fine. If problems do occur,
the items that were turned off can simply be turned on again. To do so, open the System Configuration
window and click to turn on the item.
In
our next edition, learn how to speed up your computer by disabling unnecessary
services.
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
Speed
Up a Slow Computer - Uninstall Unused Programs
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/041909.html
Speed
Up a Slow Computer – Turn Off Auto Start Programs
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/042609.html
**********************************
Question: Remove Duplicate
Songs in iTunes
How
do I remove duplicate songs in iTunes?
Answer:
Make
sure you have the latest version of iTunes installed on your computer. To check the version, open iTunes, click
Help on the menu, and then click About iTunes. You will see the version number.
Go
to the iTunes website:
www.itunes.com
and click Download iTunes. If the version number is the same as the
one you have, you do not have to download it. If not, download and install the latest verion.
Once
iTunes is installed, open it. Click
File on the menu and then click Show Duplicates. A list of duplicates will appear in the
Music window.
To
remove a duplicate, click to select one of the songs (don’t select both, you will remove all copies of the song). Press the Delete key on the
keyboard. A window will open asking
you to confirm the deletion; click the Remove button.
You
can select multiple songs by holding down the CTRL key on the keyboard as you
click to select the songs. Press
the Delete key when you have all the songs selected.
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Websites of Interest:
February is Black History Month
This
website celebrates Black History Month with biographies, reference links, a
civil rights timeline, and much more.
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/bhm1.html
Groundhog
Day
Tuesday
is Groundhog Day. Will Punxsutawney
Phil see his shadow? We hope
not! Catch up with Phil at his
official website:
http://www.groundhog.org
Allergic
Child
Learn
how to keep your child safe while living with allergies.
http://allergicchild.com/
Geognos
This
educational website will tell you all the key facts on country’s around
the world including the history, geography, people, government, economy,
communications and more.
http://www.geognos.com/
Exercise
Tracker
This
site helps you track your exercise routines online by calculating the calories
that you burned.
http://www.medhelp.org/land/exercise-tracker