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Computer Training & Consulting

Email accounts can be divided into two types – paid and free. Paid email accounts include those provided by your Internet Service Provider (ISP), those provided as part of your website hosting, and those which are made available for an annual or monthly charge. Free email services include Gmail and Hotmail; and some services provide both free and paid accounts, for example, AOL and ATT.

When everyone needed a lot of help with their email, paid providers made a lot of sense. You would contact your email provider and they would help you set up your account, reset your password, and deal with any other difficulties. As email use has become more and more of a commodity, many people started using the free email services. A major reason for having a free account was that they web-based and could be accessed from any computer, not just your own.

But there is a downside to using a free account. There is very little support for a free account. This fact was brought to my attention again as I tried to get assistance for a client who couldn’t remember her password. After spending almost 2 hours on the phone with support (OK, about half the time was on hold as we were switched between support personnel), I realized we weren’t getting anywhere. Luckily, the problem was that Internet Explorer knew the password, but my client preferred using an email client. For some reason, the email program had lost the password.

Fortunately, we were able to use a specialized tool to recover the password. But if this were not the case, my client would have had to get a new email address and notify all of her contacts of the change.

The Bottom Line: Treat your passwords with care and make sure that you have them in a secure place. You never know when you might need to look them up.  You don’t want to lose access to your email.

I was planning on writing a post on how important it is to use a surge protector (or Uninterruptable Power Supply) but my friend Patrick Seeber beat me to the punch. I’m just going to have you go over to his blog and see what he has to say. And don’t forget that you can use surge protectors for more than just protecting computers. I had a friend who stopped replacing answering machines (remember them) when she started using a surge protector.

When was the last time you checked your surge protector?

Picture from www.flickr.com/photos/squiffy

© 2012 by Sherry Goncharsky

Living in Tucson, Arizona, I’m used to seeing signs in Spanish. And I want to be sure that I enter Spanish words into the computer with proper accents. I still remember when I first moved to Tucson, the first story on the 10 o’clock news was that the new signs made for La Cañada read La Canada and many were unhappy. These characters can be entered by using the following method:

1. Hold down the left-hand ALT key;
2. On the numeric keypad, type the code corresponding to the character you want to type;
3. Let go of the ALT key.

 

And here is a table with some common Spanish codes:

Alt + 0193	Á	Alt + 0225	á
Alt + 0201	É	Alt + 0233	é
Alt + 0205	Í	Alt + 0237	í
Alt + 0211	Ó	Alt + 0243	ó
Alt + 0218	Ú	Alt + 0250	ú
Alt + 0209	Ñ	Alt + 0241	ñ
Alt + 0191	¿	Alt + 0161	¡

 

Similar codes exist for accented and special characters in other languages as well as for symbols like © and ¼. Have fun exploring how you can say anything you want.

 

© 2012 by Sherry Goncharsky

I got an email from one of my clients asking what she could do to fix the situation. Her documents were now being listed  in reverse alphabetical order and she didn’t know how to fix that. This is a case of “Big Problem – Easy Fix”.

 

Your view is different depending on what version of Windows you are running. I’m showing pictures for Windows XP and for Windows 7. Windows Vista users should look at the Windows 7 examples. So you know which pictures to look at, I’m drawing a blue border around Windows 7 images and a red border around Windows XP images.

 

Windows 7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Windows XP

 

 

Step 1: Can you fix the problem with your current view?

If you don’t have the right view of your documents, you don’t have the option to change the sort. If your view doesn’t look like the ones below, you will need to follow the instructions to change the view. Otherwise go to Step 3.

 

Step 2: Changing to the needed view

If your display doesn’t look like the one above, you will need to change the view. The directions are different for Windows 7 and Windows XP.

 

Windows 7

Look at the image below and click where I have the red circle. Then move the selector to Details. You will now see the data formatted as above.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Windows XP

Click on the box with all of the icons. Then you will have the option to select Details. The new format will look like the picture in Step 1.

 

Step 3: Fixing the problem

Now that you have the right view, click on the Name field. This will reverse the alphabetical order. Click again and it switches back. See red circle below.

 

Windows 7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Windows XP

 

 

Now you should have what you want!

 

Related Help

1. You can click on the other titles to sort by that field as well. These fields include Size, Type, and Date Modified. Again, you can sort in ascending or descending order.
2. Similar fields exist in most email programs. People usually want to see their email sorted by date. But occasionally it helps to find all emails from a specific user or all emails with a specific subject.

Just remember to return your setting to the one you’re used to after you have changed your sorting so you aren’t surprised.

 

I’ll be posting more tips like this so please follow my blog. Leave me a comment on how I can help you.

 

© 2012 by Sherry Goncharsky

 

 

 

There are less than 800 days left before Microsoft stops supporting Windows XP. It’s time to think about what you are going to do.

 

The official end of support for both Windows XP and Microsoft Office 2003 is April 8, 2014. I know it seems like a long way off but it’s time to make plans so you are prepared. You have two choices: upgrading to a new operating system or buying a new computer.

Things to consider

1. Can you upgrade your existing computer?
2. What new software will you need?
3. How long can you wait?

Check Out Windows 7 Compatibility

Microsoft has created a lot of information about migrating to Windows 7, currently the latest version for the PC. Click here to find the latest information and find answers to more questions.

I have found the most important thing to do is to download and run Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor. This can help you to decide what you are going to do. It answers the following questions:

1.  Can you run Windows 7 on your existing hardware?
2. Do you need to upgrade software for compatibility with Windows 7?
3. Is your printer or other external hardware incompatible with Windows 7?

Getting Help

You can post your questions in the comments and I’ll try to point you in the right direction. If you are in Tucson, consider giving me a call. I can help identify the best path for you.

 

© 2012 by Sherry Goncharsky

 I was visiting a new client when she told me that she was so glad she had met me. The last computer person she worked with had told her that “she was using the computer wrong.” My philosophy is everyone uses a computer in their own way.

A computer is just a tool. The Internet has turned it into a communications tool but the early personal computers could only be used for computation.

The World Wide Web wasn’t always easy to use. In the beginning, there was no graphical user interface. That meant that you had to know just what to type to get anywhere on the Internet; you had to type 152.118.24.40 instead of www.ui.edu to get to the University of Illinois, one of the early Internet sites.

Search engines weren’t always quick to be aware of new websites. Google and Yahoo were late to the search game. And the original search engines were built manually. If you started a new site, you could go and register it. Then someone would look at it and add it to the directory.

Early email users had to be on the same Internet Service Provider (ISP). Someone on AOL could only send email to other AOL users. And we all got to the Internet via dial-up modems.

I could go on with the history, but we all use computers right. Some of us just use it for more than others. It doesn’t matter if you only use email or if you only check out three websites. It doesn’t matter that you can’t use everything that your computer is capable of doing.

Keep reading my blog and I’m sure you’ll find something that discusses how you are using your computer.  I’m writing this blog to both help you understand more about what you are currently doing and possibly interest you into trying something new.

© 2012 by Sherry Goncharsky

 

Don’t know what to do about all of the pop-ups on your PC that keep telling you that a program needs to be updated? Ignoring these can leave you vulnerable to attacks from viruses, trojans and other malware.  Click on this link to download and print this information. Keep this list by your computer to help you decide.

 

Important Programs to Keep Updated

1. Microsoft Windows/ Microsoft Office
   As long as you have your system set up to locate new updates, it will automatically install these when you shut down your system. Try a second time and, if you still get a message that updates have failed, you should seek professional assistance to determine why.
2. Your Anti Virus Program
   Need I say anything more about this one. Make sure that it runs regularly too.
   And if you get a pop-up saying there are viruses on your machine and you need to click for updates, DON’T – only use your anti-virus program button or automatically apply updates to your system.
3. Adobe Reader
   Most of us use Adobe Reader to open files with an extension of .PDF so it is important that this product not open us to malware problems. Once you have gotten your updates past 9.2, Adobe Reader installs a program that automatically updates instead of waiting for you to download and install them – a great help to all of us. If you don’t have Adobe Reader 9, go to adobe.com and download it. Make sure that you don’t have any other products checked.
4. Adobe Flash will also tell you when it needs to be updated.
5. Java
   Behind the scenes, Java helps websites work correctly. Usually it finds its way onto systems when its needed. Then it must be kept updated. Java will pop up and indicate that it has updates for you to install. Heed this warning. When downloading, look carefully to make sure that you uncheck any other products that are being downloaded at the same time if you don’t want them.
6. iTunes and QuickTime
   These Apple products are used by a lot of us now with the strong infiltration of iPod, iPhone, and now the iPad. And iTunes is dependent upon having QuickTime installed so even if you don’t use it to watch any videos, it still needs to be updates. Apple has a program that notifies you when there is a new version of iTunes/QuickTime. When you go to download and install the program, uncheck the Safari browser and any other programs that you may not want.
7. If you have other tools that you use, such as tools to check for spyware and other inappropriate programs, be sure to check for their updates as well.
8. And don’t forget to keep the programs you use everyday up-to-date as well. For example, Quicken or Quickbooks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m often asked by clients about documents (or files) that they see that have this symbol. They usually show up as attachments or as a file to download from a website.  So let me explain just what these are and how you can read them.

 

 

What is a PDF?

Quoting from Wikipedia:

Portable Document Format (PDF) is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems.  Each PDF file encapsulates a complete description of a fixed-layout flat document, including the text, fonts, graphics, and other information needed to display it.

The advantages of creating a PDF are:

• Files can be used on both PCs and Macs
• Files look the same when read or printed. (No worrying about formatting changes.)
• Adobe’s program to use PDFs is available for free. (And other programs are available for using them as well.)
• PDFs are difficult to change, so sender is sure that the recipient can’t make changes

How do I read/open a PDF?

Many computers come with Adobe Reader already installed. In this case, all you have to do is open the file and you can read and print it. Don’t forget to update Adobe Reader when the pop-up appears. This will help keep your computer safe and secure.

If you can’t open the file, you will need to install Adobe Reader. Click on this link and the click on Adobe Reader (on the right side of the screen). This will take you to the proper download for your operating system version. If you don’t want anything extra, uncheck the box. Now click download and follow the installation directions.

Now you can handle any PDF file you are sent!

 

© 2012 by Sherry Goncharsky

 

 

 

 

If you’ve moved frequently, you may have found that one of the problems is that your current Internet service provider (ISP) is unavailable at your new location. Planning ahead can make this a lot easier. You only have to notify people once and can change ISPs as often as needed. You can even do this without a move planned so that you can avoid a future loss of contact.
 

1. Use a provider that isn’t tied to an ISP.
   Get yourself a new email address with a free provider like Gmail or Hotmail or even AOL. Not only can you access your email via webmail from your own computer, you can do this from any other computer as well. This is a great solution for snowbirds and those who travel a lot. And these addresses can be accessed by using the provider’s webmail option or through a most email programs.

 

2. Obtain your own domain name (like a business might do) and a hosting company.
   You may obtain your email address through your hosting company or you may do it separately. Just make sure that it is registered in your name as owner. Although this does require an annual charge, this gives you the option to change hosting companies if you aren’t satisfied. Hosting companies allow you to either use their webmail interface or direct the mail to your email program (like Outlook or Thunderbird). And your hosting company should allow you to create more than one email address at your domain.

Also when changing email addresses, you will want to look into how to keep your existing messages and address book. Again, planning ahead will give you an address that is independent of location and ISP.

Email Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rmgimages/

© 2012 by Sherry Goncharsky