Cloud computing – Ubiquitous, Powerful, and ...

Cloud computing definition: Using a web site (app) to perform computing functions like word processing, spreadsheets, video and image editing, financial management and more. Ten years ago we used the web as a resource to find information. For productivity work, we installed programs that lived on our computers as did the data. If we had extra computers or needed to have access to that information on a different computer, it...

How good are your passwords?

And you have more than one password right? If you don’t, you should…seriously…good security starts with good passwords that you change regularly. Today, I came across a site that will demonstrate how weak or strong your password based on the average time it would take to crack your password. It will either scare the heck out of you or it will make you feel good about your choice of passwords. The site is:...

Getting the most of searching the web and using Br...

We had a great class today and talked about many aspects of searching the web safely and efficiently. The videos below cover the material we discussed in class including some answers to questions we talked about during the class as well relating to changing your home page, working with title bar, the new Gmail compose screen and more. How to use Tabs in your...

The Castellini Approach to Internet Security ̵...

EDITORS NOTE:   I originally posted this article in 2007. A lot has changed in 6 years, so I’ve updated the article with new information and links. Please heed the information here to save you time, money and frustration and pass along to your friends and family! This past week I saw way too many people who are not taking advantage of the free information we give out on the show and the web site. Their computers were...

Google Earth & Internet Maps

Google acquired a CIA funded mapping and satellite company in 2004 and released Google Earth less than a year later. Most images that make up Google Earth are 1-3 years old and taken from a variety of public and private satellite imaging systems. Google Earth imagery is not live and has never been live. Google offers Google Earth for free to any computer user running Windows, Mac OS X, or Linux. Smartphone users can also...

How to use tabs in your browser – Video Tip

One of the biggest additions to the new Internet Explorer is ‘tabbed browsing’. An unbelievable feature that you will wonder how you did without once you start using it. Tabbed browsing was first introduced by the lesser known Opera browser, and brought fully to life with Firefox. Tabbed browsing allows you to open multiple Internet windows without cluttering your taskbar and makes them easy to find with easy to...

1-click access to your favorite websites – V...

Please DO NOT use the address bar as a repository to return to sites you use all the time…eventually they will get lost. The address bar history maintains a small amount of your recently visited site and can easily be wiped out via an update or disk cleaning and maintenance tools. Instead, use the Favorites (Internet Explorer) or Bookmarks (Firefox and every other browser). Favorites/Bookmarks are designed to save and...

How to export your Netflix queue to a spreadsheet ...

I was trying to export my Netflix queue tonight and tried to find an easy to follow tutorial or tool, but found neither. Instead, I created my own! It ended up being so easy, that I’m going to share it with the rest of the web…here it is: Open your Netflix queue Select the entire queue using your mouse (don’t use Ctrl+A) Click Edit –> Copy from the menus OR Ctrl+C on your keyboard Open Notepad (or...

Introduction to Evernote.com – Video Tip

Evernote offers a free and premium services that promises the potential to remember everything. Instead of paper piling up on your desk or in your file cabinets, you can use Evernote to capture that paper digitally and store it securely online at Evernote.com. Here is a great introductory video to what this service does:   From your computer, you can add notes, photos, or scans to your Evernote account by logging in at...

How to use Gmail’s New Compose and Reply Scr...

Recently Google started rolling out a new compose screen for Gmail users and new Reply/Forward screens as well. Their premise was simplification and less cluttered interface. The first will be debatable by many Gmailers, but the 2nd cannot denied…it is almost too uncluttered. In summary, the font toolbar, attachments (drag and drop still works), and inserting photos have all been put at the bottom of the compose or...

WARNING! Spyware/Virus Infections Getting Nastier!

This article applies primarily to Windows users (any version) since virii and spyware infections are pretty much limited to Windows users at this time. However, Apple and Linux users should heed the advice that I will lay out here and help their Windows using friends and family as well. First and foremost, EVERY Internet user should read, study, and understand the who, what, why, and how of spyware and virus infections by...

Reset Internet Explorer 7 or 8 or 9

Microsoft released Internet Explorer 7 in October of 2007, version 8 in the summer of 2009, and version 9 (Vista and 7 users only) in March 2011. Although each new version contains many improved features, it has also brought on a slew of new problems for computer users just moving to it. If you are bent on using Internet Explorer (instead of Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome as I recommend), but continue to have nagging...

Create Labels Online – Video Tip

Avery’s Design & Print labels is a fantastic resource to create labels from your computer with nothing to buy except the labels!  Avery developed this free service so that you can create quick, clean and flexible labels. The service is free and works inside your browser. Since it is a Web 2.0 application (works in your web browser), any computer user can use it from any computer regardless of operating system. In...

Make reading the web easier than ever – Vide...

Although we now have 19″ and larger monitors on most new desktop computers, the text seems to shrink. Why is that? It has to do with screen resolution (how much information can be displayed). Screen resolutions on today’s monitors are up to 3X that of monitors we used just 6-8 years ago. We can see a lot more information, but often the text is too small to view for some computer users. Never fear. Using this...

Start your password tracking system today!

One common problem I help solve every day is the recovery of passwords. For some reason, tracking passwords and usernames becomes a daunting task for most computer users. The advice I dispense most often when asked how to track all of the usernames and passwords we accumulate these days is to simply write it down. Not just anywhere, however, but in an address book, on an index card and filed in a recipe box, or on full sheets...