Welcome
to this week's edition of the Computer Kindergarten Newsletter.
Today is Sunday, May 17, 2009
To
observe the unofficial Beginning of Summer, we will not be publishing this
newsletter next week. Have a happy
and safe Memorial Day weekend!
In this Issue:
Special Feature: Don’t
Get Hooked by a Phishing Scam
Tips & Tricks: Twenty Five Most
Important Rules of Email Etiquette:
20. Set Your System Clock Right
Special Feature: Speak To Me
This
Week's Topic: Speed Up a Slow
Computer – Defrag
Question: Microsoft Word: Non
Breaking Space
Tips
& Tricks: Microsoft Word: Using
Ctrl Drag to Copy
Keyboard
Shortcut: Recently Used Documents
in Microsoft Word
Websites
of Interest: Memorial Day; May Is
Driver Safety Month; Digital TV Transition; Green Cleaners; Recipe Bridge; Fifteen
Ways to Save Money Online: 7. Shop
Online, Online Shopping Search Engines
**************************************************************
Special Feature: Don’t
Get Hooked by a Phishing Scam
The
following is from OnGuard Online: Your Safety Net
http://www.onguardonline.gov
Phishing
is a scam where Internet fraudsters send spam or
pop-up messages to lure personal and financial information from unsuspecting
victims. To avoid getting hooked:
Don't reply to email or pop-up messages that ask
for personal or financial information, and don't click on links in the message.
Don't cut and paste a link from the message into your
Web browser — phishers can make links look like
they go one place, but that actually send you to a different site.
Some
scammers send an email that appears to be from a legitimate business and ask
you to call a phone number to update your account or access a
"refund." Because they use Voice over Internet Protocol technology,
the area code you call does not reflect where the scammers really are. If you
need to reach an organization you do business with,
call the number on your financial statements or on the back of your credit
card.
Use
anti-virus and anti-spyware software, as well as a firewall, and update them
all regularly.
Don't email personal or financial information.
Review
credit card and bank account statements as soon as you receive them to check
for unauthorized charges.
Be
cautious about opening any attachment or downloading any files from emails you receive, regardless of who sent them.
Forward
phishing emails to spam@uce.gov – and to the company, bank, or
organization impersonated in the phishing email. You also may report phishing
email to reportphishing@antiphishing.org. The Anti-Phishing Working Group, a
consortium of ISPs, security vendors, financial institutions and law
enforcement agencies, uses these reports to fight phishing.
If
you've been scammed, visit the Federal Trade
Commission's Identity Theft website at ftc.gov/idtheft.
**************************************************************
Tips & Tricks: Twenty Five Most Important Rules of Email Etiquette: 20. Set Your System Clock Right
This
article is part of our ongoing series on Email Etiquette. With the help of Heinz Tschabitscher from about.com, we are taking an in depth
look at email etiquette. To read
previous editions of this series, please visit our newsletter archives:
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/etiquette.html
The
rules of email etiquette are not rules as much as they are guidelines that help
avoid mistakes (like offending someone when you don't
mean to) and misunderstandings (like being offended when you're not meant to).
These
core rules of email etiquette help us communicate better via email.
Set
Your System Clock Right
Most
of my mailboxes are sorted by date, so that I can read
and answer messages in the order they were sent. I bet most of your mail
folders are organized in a similar way.
Time and again a new message appears in between the old
ones. Of course I only realize that a lot later and by
accident. Most of these stray messages are spam, but sometimes an important
message comes with a wrong date, too.
This
is why you should set your system's clock to the accurate time periodically.
To
read previous editions of this series, please visit our newsletter archives:
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/etiquette.html
**************************************************************
Special Feature: Speak To Me
Here
is a fun little project that you can do with your computer:
Windows
comes with a built in voice system. In this article, you will learn how to
write a Visual Basic program that will use this system. This program will create an icon on your
desktop. When you double click to
open it, a small window will open.
You will see the message “What do you want me to say?” Type something in the box beneath that
and then click the OK button. The
computer will read, out loud, what you just
typed.
This
uses a Microsoft speech program, which is installed on
most Windows computers. If this
does not work on your computer, you do not have the program installed.
To
begin, open Notepad. To do so,
click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, and then click Notepad.
Copy
the following text and the paste it into Notepad. To do so, select the text, Click Edit on
the menu and then click Copy. If
you have not opened Notepad already, follow the steps above to open it; it is
not necessary to close this window to do so. Click in notepad. Click Edit on the menu and then click
Paste.
Copy
text below (do not include this line)
Dim
message, sapi
message=InputBox("What do you
want me to say?","Speak to Me")
Set
sapi=CreateObject("sapi.spvoice")
sapi.Speak message
Copy
text above (do not include this line)
Once
the text is copies in Notepad, click File on the menu and then click Save. Change the
Save location to Desktop and use speak.vbs as the filename (be sure to include
the .vbs).
Now
double click on the speak icon on your desktop. Type in your message, click OK and
listen to your computer speak.
**************************************************************
Today's Topic: Speed Up a
Slow Computer – Defrag
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
Speed
Up a Slow Computer – Defrag
When
a file is stored on your hard disk, it's often split
into separate fragments. Fragmentation occurs naturally when you use a disk
frequently: creating, deleting, and modifying files. At some point, the
operating system needs to store parts of a file in noncontiguous places on the
disk. You can't see the fragments, and you can't stop
this fragmenting from occurring, but it can slow down the speed at which data
is accessed because the disk drive must search through different parts of the
disk to put together a single file.
However,
you can defrag your system. This is the term used for reorganizing the data on
your Hard Disk into a more logical sequence, which means taking all those
scattered fragments of files and piecing them back together where they belong.
This helps free more hard drive space and makes the accessing of files a
speedier process; your Hard Disk will work quicker and more efficiently.
To
defrag the drive, open My Computer, right-click the drive icon, and choose
Properties. Click the Tools tab, and click Defragment Now.
This
will probably be a lengthy process, depending on the size of your hard drive
and number of files.
Question: Defrag Does Not Work
I
am trying to defragment my computer.
When I open Disk Defragmenter and do an analysis, it tells me I should
defrag but every time I try, it stops on 2%. What am I doing wrong?
Answer:
You
are not doing anything wrong. It is
possible that some program is running in the background which is causing defrag
to terminate. Try this:
Turn
your computer off and back on again.
Before the computer completely restarts, right
after the first beep, press the F8 key (on the top row of the keyboard). You should then see a list of startup options.
If
the computer goes to the desktop without showing the startup option, you did
not press the F8 key at the right time.
This is a tricky process; the key has to be pressed
at exactly the right time. Turn the
computer off and then restart. As
soon as the computer begins to start, keep tapping the f8 key until the Startup
Options appear.
Select
Safe Mode.
Start
Disk Defragmenter again. It should
run all the way through this time.
After it is complete, shut the computer down and start it again. It will come back in normal mode.
When
Windows starts in safe mode, it opens a minimum of auto start programs and
drivers. Any programs that are
causing your defrag to cease working may not be running in safe mode.
In
our next edition, Disable Indexing 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
Speed
Up a Slow Computer – Turn Off Auto Start
Programs - MSCONFIG
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/050309.html
Speed
Up a Slow Computer – Disable Unnecessary Windows Services
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/051009.html
**************************************************************
Question: Microsoft Word: Non
Breaking Space
When
I type a date that is toward the right side of the line, the month stays on the
line but the day and year moves down to the next line. Can I get the date to stay together as
it should?
Answer:
Yes,
you have to use a non breaking space. To do so, type the month; do not type a
space after. Click Insert on the
menu and then click Symbol. Click
the Special Characters tab at the top.
Click Nonbreaking Space and then click the
Insert button. Click the Close button and then finish typing the day and year.
Depending
on the line position of the date, you may have to insert a nonbreaking
space between the day and the year, too.
To do so, after typing the day and the comma, do not type a space. Click Insert on the menu and then click
Symbol. Click the Special
Characters tab at the top. Click Nonbreaking Space and then click the Insert button. Click
the Close button and then finish typing the year.
Now
the entire date will always stay together on the same line.
**************************************************************
Tips & Tricks: Microsoft Word: Using
Ctrl Drag to Copy
Select
the text you want to copy. Hold
down the CTRL key, point anywhere in the selected text and hold down the left
mouse button. You will be able to
drag a copy of the selected text to another location in the document. When you get to the place you want,
release the mouse button. The copy
of the selected text will appear there.
**************************************************************
Keyboard Shortcut: Recently Used Documents
in Microsoft Word
Open
the File menu and, down at the bottom of the menu, you will see the last four
documents you opened. Here is a
keyboard shortcut for you:
Hold
down the ALT key and press F. The
File menu will open. Notice that
there is a number next to each of those documents down at the bottom of the
list. On your keyboard, press the
number listed beside the file name.
That will open the document for you.
**************************************************************
Websites of Interest:
Memorial
Day
Next
Monday, May 25, is Memorial Day.
Visit our website for information, ways to celebrate the observations,
graphics, recipes, ecards and much more.
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/memday.html
May
Is Driver Safety Month
Learn
how to be a safe driver and save money on your car insurance. You can now take the AARP driver safety
course online.
http://www.aarp.org/families/driver_safety/driver_safety_online_course.html
Digital
TV Transition
TV
stations will stop all analog broadcasts by June 12 and switch over to digital
transmissions. Visit this website
to learn about preparing for the DTV transition.
http://tinyurl.com/r9kttm
Green
Cleaners
Learn
how to use simple ingredients to clean your house and protect the environment.
http://www.metro-region.org/index.cfm/go/by.web/id=1400
Recipe
Bridge
Find
recipes from hundreds of online cooking websites.
http://www.recipebridge.com/
Fifteen
Ways to Save Money Online: 7. Shop
Online, Online Shopping Search Engines
From
Wendy Boswell of about.com
No
matter what your financial situation may be, it is always a good idea to learn
new ways to save money. Find out how you can utilize the power of the Web to
save money, find good deals, and improve your financial status.
7.
Shop Online, Online Shopping Search Engines
Save
some serious gas money and go shopping online instead. Most sites offer free or
reduced-rate shipping as well.
Online
Shopping Search Engines
Froogle. Google's shopping
engine is a great resource. Just type in anything you are trying to find, and Froogle will bring up a
whole plethora of search results, complete with price comparisons.
http://www.google.com/products
Bizrate.com.
Bizrate.com bills itself as the "world's best shopping engine". They
have a huge index of search results to choose from (over 30 million product
offers from more than 40,000 stores).
http://www.bizrate.com/
MySimon.com.
MySimon.com, the winner of "Forbes Favorite" and "Best Internet
Shopping Service" Eppy awards, is a prime Net
shopping engine.
http://www.mysimon.com/
Yahoo Shopping. Yahoo's shopping page is
simply laid out and easy to use. A nice feature is the "Top
Searches" on the top of the page.
http://shopping.yahoo.com/
Amazon.com.
With millions of offerings to choose from, Amazon has evolved from a small
bookstore to a mammoth Internet presence.
http://www.amazon.com
Overstock.com.
Ever wondered what stores do with the stuff they over-order? Well, check
Overstock.com and find out.
http://www.overstock.com
Shopping.com.
Shopping.com is the merged result of Epinions.com and Dealtime.com. They do a
good job of making their site simple and easy to use.
http://www.shopping.com/
Pricerunner.com.
Pricerunner is Europe's leading comparison shopping
site. You can search by product or by product number/model name.
http://www.pricerunner.com/
PricingCentral.com
is an extremely comprehensive shopping search engine, and can help you compare
prices fast and simply.
http://www.pricingcentral.com/
MSN Shopping. MSN Shopping's home page is a bit crowded,
but their featured stores and directory are both easy to navigate.
http://shopping.msn.com/
Shop.com
not only allows you to search for thousands upon thousands of different
products, but they have an outlet store full of discounted products and
bargains galore. For this cheapskate, this feature alone merited a bookmark.
http://www.shop.com/
Shopzilla. Shop from "more
than 25 million products from over 45,000 stores" at Shopzilla.
Navigate to the bottom of the home page to see their shipping widget; just
enter in your zip code and from then on out your shipping will be automatically
calculated should you choose to purchase anything.
http://www.shopzilla.com/
Tip: Some websites may require you to
register to use their features.
When you register at websites, you may be signing up for spam (junk
mail) if the recipient sells email addresses to spammers. There is a way to avoid this and still
be able to take advantage of the great things that site has to offer. Read our article, Minimizing Spam
– Registering Online, at our newsletter archives, to learn how use
websites without getting junk mail.
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/111608.html
Next
Edition: Shop Online, Online
Shopping with Comparison Shopping Search Engines
Please
visit our newsletter archives for previous articles in our Fifteen Ways to Save
Money Online series:
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/savemoney.html