How to keep a healthy computer--read below!
The purpose for this page is to provide you with some help and basic information on the use and maintenance of your personal computer. Please check back often as we will be constantly adding and changing things.
Memory prices are low. Adding memory to your computer is the best and cheapest way to improve its performance and speed. Call or email us for more information and prices.
Backup-Backup-Backup !! Please be sure that you are making backup copies of all critical data that you enter into your computer such as Quicken, QuickBooks, Microsoft Money, Word, Word Perfect, photos that you download from your digital camera, photos and documents that you have scanned etc. If your hard drive suddenly fails (and they will) then you will be left without all this data that you worked so hard to enter. It is also good policy to make two copies and keep one copy in another location such as a bank safety deposit box.
VIRUS
 | It is imperative that you keep your antivirus program up to date and active. There are new virus' coming out daily and some of them are quite destructive. You should be updating your antivirus patterns about once a week and no more than 2 weeks to stay as protected as possible. If your antivirus programs does automatic updates, check it regularly to verify that it is up to date. Remember--just because you purchased an antivirus program and installed it doesn't mean you are protected. It is your responsibility to make sure that it is up-to-date and properly configured. Also some new computers come with antivirus programs preinstalled but some of them are only good for 90 days. |
| There is NO excuse for not having antivirus protection!! There are several good FREE antivirus programs available. Click on this link for more information. Free Antivirus Software Call or email me and I can help you with this. A couple of good, free antivirus programs that I have tried are: AVAST and AVG Again, call or email me and I can help you with this. |
| Virus hoax--if you receive an email telling you about some
new destructive virus and are concerned about its validity go to this web
site for more information: http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.html |
Tip of the week
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Windows 95/98/ME/XP/Vista--- Click the "Right" way!! use your right mouse button often- it can save you time. Using the right mouse button gives you a dialog box with some additional options. Experiment and see what happens. |
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If you are using Internet Explorer version 5 or later (7.0 is the latest) and you are typing in a web address, did you know that all you have to do is type in the name of the domain and the hold down the "Ctrl" key and hit the "enter" key. This will complete the address for you. This only works for .com addresses. |
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Internet Explorer version 5.5, 6.0 & 7 have a "print preview" feature (IE 7, click the drop down arrow by the printer icon). If you find a web page you want to print and want to see what will print, click on "file", "print preview". If there is just one area on the web page that you want to print, you can highlight it and click on "file", "print" and then in the print dialog box place a check mark where it says "print selection" and then the only part that will be printed is the area you highlighted. |
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I get many calls from people that are having problems with a particular software program or maybe there printer isn't working correctly. Many times the solution to these problems is simply restarting your computer. Try shutting down your computer completely including power off. Wait about 30 seconds and start it back up and see if the problem goes away. Many times HP printers need to have the power cord unplugged from the wall and then plugged back in to reset them. |
How to Keep A Healthy Computer
#1 Do a disk cleanup as described below.
#2 Update your antivirus software. Run a scan of your whole hard drive.
#3 Download Ad-aware (http://lavasoftusa.com). You only need the free one. Double-click the file you downloaded and follow the instructions to install it. Once installed, run it. On the first screen, you'll see a link to "Check for updates now." Click that and update to the latest version. Then run it and let it check your system for Trojans and worms.
#4 Download Spybot S&D (http://www.safer-networking.org/). Double click the file you downloaded and install that. Run it. On the left, you'll see a series of icons. Click the globe icon, labeled "Update." In the big section on the right, at the top, click the "Search for updates" icon. If there are any, click the "Download updates" icon.
#5 Once you've done that, click the "Search and destroy" icon on the left. At the bottom of the screen (nice user interface), click the "Check for problems" icon. Let spybot check for Trojans and worms. I know you already did that with Ad-Aware, but Ad-aware checks the hard drive and a little of the Registry, and Spybot checks deep into the Registry. They complement each other.
That's it! At least once a week, update your antivirus if it isn't already up to date and run it, update Ad-aware and run it, and update Spybot S&D and run it. Sure, this takes some time, but it's worth a little time to stay safe and secure."
Disk Cleanup
It is very important to empty the temporary internet files and other temporary files from you computer on a periodic basis. If you browse the Internet heavily then daily is probably a good idea for the temporary Internet files otherwise weekly may be often enough.
Windows 98/ME/XP/Vista--open "My Computer". "Right" click on the "C" drive and select "properties". click on the "disk Cleanup" button and make sure there is a check mark in all the boxes. If you do not want to empty the recycle bin at this time, uncheck it. Click "OK" to delete the files you have checked. Disk cleanup is also listed under "Start", "Programs", "Accessories", "System Tools". If you like you can put a shortcut on your desktop for it.
Windows 95 - Call me for information
What does that Windows Key do on my keyboard?
Win
Opens the start menu
Win + E
Starts Windows Explorer
Ctrl + Win + F Finds
computer
Win + M
Minimizes all windows.
Shift + Win + M Restores minimized
windows
Win + R
Displays run-dialog box
Win + Tab
Cycles through taskbar buttons
Win + Break
brings up system properties box
Win +
D
Brings up the desktop
F6
key
highlights the address bar in Internet Explorer so you can type a new address
F1
key
Opens the help file for the program you are in.
More Keyboard tips
| Hold down the "Ctrl" key and hit the "Esc" key (or as mentioned above use the Windows key if you have one) and it will bring up the start menu. Use the up, down, right and left arrow keys on you keyboard to highlight where you want to go, then hit the "enter" key (PS: don't tell your mouse you learned a few keyboard shortcuts or it might get it's feelings hurt) |
| Instead of using the arrow keys as described above you can simply hit the letter that is underlined to navigate. Try it, you might like it! |
| "Ctrl" + "c" copies the highlighted item to the
clipboard, "Ctrl" + "v" will paste the item. "Ctrl"+"x"
will cut the item.
Spyware, Adware and Problem Downloads There are some programs that are known to cause serious problems on your system. For a description of these click here.
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This page was last updated 12/01/07