Guide | Castellini on Computers - Computer help for beginners

Posts Tagged: guide

Internet Tips — 6 Comments
22
Oct 09

Protect Your Identity

photo credit: CarbonNYC

Identity theft is becoming an enormous problem in the United States and worldwide. Identity theft involves the misuse of your personal information to fraudulently purchase goods, services or open accounts to purchase good and services.

According to a FTC report, identity theft cost victims, businesses and financial institutions $500 billion in 2003. The average victim spent more than 75 hours cleaning up their name and accounts at an average loss of more than $11,000.

Contrary to popular opinion, most identity theft results from stolen mail, stolen wallets or purses, trash rummaging or the victim falling prey to a scam, not online shopping. In fact online shopping with reputable dealers is safer, in many respects, than shopping in your own city. Of course, most retailers operate safe businesses and have reputable employees, but the ever increasing reality is that we must be careful with our personal information.

Follow these guidelines to help Continue reading →

Gmail guide for beginners – 3 Videos – Video Tip

This week’s video tip is a HelpMeRick.com first…it involves 3 videos to cover the topic of Gmail. Directly above each video below, I give a short synopsis of the videos contents. The more I use it, the more impressed I am with Gmail. If you currently use Gmail, don’t be afraid to watch these videos as you might pick up a tip or two yourself.

Google offers a good Help section covering their email system, and you can find it by clicking here. My short video series here are meant to just get you started quickly and give you the highlights of this email system. Continue reading →

Riding Shotgun with Rick / Ubuntu Tips — No Comments
26
Jan 09

Free Pocket Guide to Ubuntu

The author of Ubuntu Pocket Guide and Reference, Keir Thomas, made his book available for free in PDF format today (click here to download). If you tend to like your manuals and books in tangible book format, click here to get the $9.94, 166 page book version from Amazon.

Email Tips / Riding Shotgun with Rick — 3 Comments
27
Oct 08

Clean your inbox

stuffed inbox Email truly revolutionized communication. The ability to retrieve a message from anywhere in the world in a matter of seconds is mind boggling. However, judging by the size of your inboxes (a poll I posted recently showed that 60% of email users had more than 100 messages in their inbox), you could benefit from some tips on how to keep your inbox clean.

I used to keep as many as many as 50 or so email stacked up in my inbox, but I always felt that I was behind in my work and consequently much of the email went unread and unanswered. A little more than a year ago, it all changed after I read an article that struck a chord with me called Email Zen. I immediately started practicing the techniques and suggestions in the article and found myself with a cleaner inbox and a better overall outlook (no pun intended) about email and my email communication. I continue to strive for the empty inbox and find that if i get more than 10, I start to get a little jumpy.

From reading that article and my own experience over the past eighteen months, here are my suggestions for reaching harmony with email:

Employ a good spam filter. The best one available for Outlook, Outlook Express, or Thunderbird is Cloudmark Desktop, hands down. Don’t even bother telling me about another one…unless it is better than this one.
Use Gmail instead of Outlook or any other email system. The tools available in Gmail make handling email a breeze, and the built-in spam filter with Gmail is phenomenal negating step 1.
Learn to use filters to sort and manage your email.
Learn to use built-in search tools in your email program to extract information from saved email.
Unsubscribe from any online newsletters, forums, or email groups that you don’t actively read and never will. Remember NOT to unsubscribe from spam, that only brings more spam.
Ask your email buddies who forward messages and jokes to you that you would like to be removed from their list…again, if you don’t actively read them.
Respond to your incoming email as quickly as possible…preferably directly after you read it so that it is handled only one time.
If you have a phone that is capable of checking your email, use it while in the bathroom, standing in line for lunch, waiting for an appointment, etc. Responding to an email on your phone will make your response brief and to the point and save you that time later when you return to your computer.

Another good article for learning how to handle email in an efficient manner is Inbox Zero over at 43folders.com If you have some other techniques that you find work well for keeping email under control, leave a comment and share it! If you are one of the 60% plus who have 50 or more email in their inbox, give these techniques a try and let me know what you think.

Photo by PatrickO’Shaughnessey

Riding Shotgun with Rick — No Comments
16
Oct 08

My first year with Gmail

Mailbox I closed Outlook and started using Gmail exclusively one year ago. At first, I thought it would be a good experiment to see what Gmail was really all about, but I was also fed up with Outlook and its limitations. It took me two or three weeks to wean myself of thinking of my email in the same way that I used to with Outlook. For the experiment to work, Gmail had to satisfactorily accomplish 3 key functions of email that I handled pretty well with Outlook:

Spam filtering (I used Cloudmark Desktop with Outlook for years and am convinced that for Outlook/Outlook Express or Thunderbird users there is no equal).
Aggregate all of my email addresses (5) in one system.
Organize my email with categories (folders) and automated filtering for shifting email to their appropriate category/folder.

If Gmail could equal or exceed what I could do with Outlook, then I would consider it a success. Gmail’s spam filtering quickly impressed me. In fact, one year later, I can say confidently that Gmail’s spam filtering is superior to that of the Cloudmark system that kept me sane for years with Outlook. Feature #1, check!

I learned to use the Accounts feature in Gmail to successfully and seamlessly pull all my email addresses (and sort them) into my Gmail account. Beautiful; Feature #2, check!

Organizing my email, without the use of folders, proved to be the biggest learning curve. One year later, however, I am happy to report that the learning curve was worth it. Gmail’s Label system for organizing email becomes an astonishingly superior method of organizing email compared to folders once you get the hang of it. Combining the use of Gmail Labels and Gmail Filters makes organizing and managing email almost painless. Feature #3 check.

Since Gmail handled all my key elements of email use with aplomb, I stayed with Gmail and for the time being have no interest in changing. I’m always on the look out for a quicker, easier, and more intuitive to accomplish any technology task, but when it comes to email, every other service, in my opinion, has much to learn from Gmail. In addition to accomplishing all the things I need email to do, I find that the two other features that keep me tied to Gmail are the superior and quick searching ability and the fact that I have access to my email from any computer or phone in the world. Using Gmail made me start to enjoy email again and I know that I’m much more organized and responsive to my email than I was just one year ago.

To learn more about email, read my tip and watch my 3 how-to Gmail videos by clicking here. Do you have a Gmail story to share? If so, please post it below…good or bad.

Story photo by Tim Norris

Hardware Tips — No Comments
7
Oct 08

Set up a home network – Part I

Home Network Home computer networks used to be just for geeks, there was no practical reason to setup a network at home because most people only had one system and the Internet was only accessible through a dial-up connection that couldn?t be shared.

Today that has all changed. Computer networks are not only practical but they are also easy to setup and in many cases they are absolutely necessary. Over the next few weeks, we will breakdown the process of building a computer network into simple steps that will guide you through the entire process of setting up either a wired or wireless home computer network.

Before we get into the logistics of a network setup, we should cover some quick terminology. Here are a few terms you absolutely need to understand to build a computer network.

Ethernet ? This is the kind of cable that you use to build a wired network. You will recognize it by the large RJ-45 ends that resemble large telephone jacks.

Router ? This is a device that monitors the complex network transmissions and acts as a traffic cop to decide what communications are safe and what are potentially bad guys trying to get in. A router is a kind of hardware firewall.

Switch ? Often people use the terms switch and router interchangeably, but a switch is actually the device that controls how communication takes place within the network. For example a switch acts as a hub where all of the computers come together to share files, printers and other devices. Typically a router will come with a switch built-in, but not always, especially on wireless networks.

Wireless/WiFi ? Also called 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi is a special frequency that allows you to setup a network with minimal wires. Sometimes wireless networks are setup for complex jobs like file and print sharing; sometimes they serve only one purpose such as sharing the Internet with nearby computers. This type of wireless should not be confused with wireless cell phones or high speed Internet offered via wireless microwave technology.

Broadband Internet ? Only broadband Internet access can be shared on a network. There are two ways to connect to the Internet ? dialup or broadband. In order for an Internet connection to be called broadband it must meet four criteria:

It is fast, very fast.
It is always on, no dialing required.
It doesn?t occupy a phone line ? you can talk on the phone while you surf.
It can be shared among multiple computers at the same time. The whole family can be on the Internet at the same time on each computer.

There will be more terms defined in future articles, but these terms and concepts should be a good start and get you ready for the next articles.

You can read all the tips in this series here:

Set up a home network – Part II

Set up a home network – Part III

Set up a home network – Part IV

General Computer Tips / Riding Shotgun with Rick — 1 Comment
25
Sep 08

Your one stop troubleshooting spot

In the almost 14 years that I have devoted to helping computer users, I have discovered a few computing standards:

- - - - Many computer problems can be solved by simply restarting the computer.
      - In the event of a mouse, keyboard, monitor, sound, printer or Internet problem, always triple check your cables to make sure everything is plugged in securely.
      - Much to the dismay of computer users, almost all problems were caused in some way by something we did or didn’t do…usually unknowingly or inadvertently.
      - Your neighbor/co-worker/family member/ cannot fix your computer.
      - Very few computer users backup their important data.

With these five basic rules established, use my basic troubleshooting tips for printers, sound, Internet (click here) and other problems BEFORE panicking and before calling tech support. You will be pleasantly surprised how either performing rule #1 above or using these guides can dig you out of a problem rather quickly.

Hardware Tips / Riding Shotgun with Rick — No Comments
28
Jul 08

Increase the speed of your computer

If your computer still performs all the functions you want it to do, there is no need to replace it. However, no matter if you’ve been using the same computer for a month or seven years, all computers need and crave RAM (Random Access Memory).

RAM provides the ‘umph’ for our computers and an abundance of it helps Windows’ performance tremendously.

Hard drive space (physical storage of your data) and RAM (temporary memory for running programs) utilize two distinctly different types of technologies. So, don’t equate free hard drive space with RAM. Instead, use these guidelines for figuring out your RAM needs.

Because of the dramatic drop in price over the past two years of RAM, here are my current recommendations for your computer system (the numbers are in megabytes):

* Windows 95 – 32 minimum – 128 recommended
* Windows 98 – 64 minimum – 256 recommended
* Windows Me – 128 minimum – 256 recommended
* Windows 2000 / XP – 512 minimum – 1024 (1 Gigabyte) recommended

To find out how much RAM you currently have push the Windows key + the Break key on your keyboard or RIGHT Click your My Computer icon and click Properties.

To find out how much RAM your computer can utilize, contact your manufacturer or visit Crucial and use their handy RAM tool by clicking their “scan my system” button.

Installing RAM doesn’t take any expertise and can be performed by anyone willing to open their computer’s case. Click here to watch a short video on how to install RAM.

Hardware Tips / Riding Shotgun with Rick — No Comments
22
Feb 08

Always check the cables

Two customer visits this week took less than 10 minutes after I arrived on the scene. When printers, speakers, keyboards, mice, etc stop working and I get a call, the first thing I ask is whether the cables/cords are all plugged in correctly or at all. About 50% of the time, I’m told either “yes they are” or “I don’t know how to check them and want you to do it.” I show up and check the cables, attach them securely to their correct spots and then everything works.

The next time you lose sound, can’t print, lose your keyboard or mouse function follow these steps to save you lots of time, frustration, and money:

Shut down the computer
Follow the cables coming from the offending piece of hardware to their ends in the computer.
Pull the cable out, and firmly reattach it to its computer home
Also, do the same thing with the power cables for any devices that use separate power cables
If your mice and/or keyboard require batteries, replace them when you lose mouse or keyboard function
Now turn your computer back on again and see what happens.

If you have trouble figuring out what cables go to what ports on your computer, use tape and a Sharpie to label both the PC and the cable itself to properly match up plethora of cables hanging from the back of your computer. You can also couple this with a photo of the back of your computer to use as a reference as well.

Bottom line: Don’t call phone tech support for these kind of hardware issues until you are positive that the cables/batteries all are attached and functioning properly. Phone support can’t see those things and might guide you down the wrong path that will cause problems once you hang up with them.

Internet Tips / Riding Shotgun with Rick — 1 Comment
8
Oct 07

5 Easy Wireless Security Hints

Thankfully, broadband (high speed) Internet is spreading further and further. I don’t walk into many homes anymore than don’t have high speed access, and I can’t remember the last time I helped a business customer who had dial-up access. With high speed Internet access, many computer users install a wireless router to the modem to allow multiple computer access to the Internet. Wireless routers are easier to setup than ever before and can be purchased for well under $50. However, with extra technology, comes extra problems.

With wireless, the extra problems can mean potentially slow, spotty, and unsecured Internet access. Follow these five steps to make your wireless Internet stronger, more secure and less problematic:

Change the default password of your DSL modem and/or router. Read your particular device’s manual to find out how.
Change the default wireless network name. Actiontec DSL modems default to either Actiontec or 2wire and routers default to naming the wireless network after the manufacturer (Linksys, Belkin, etc). Change it to your street, neighborhood, or county name. Don’t name it after your last name.
Consider not broadcasting the signal as well. Not broadcasting means that you will have to setup the connection manually on your computer, but it makes the signal virtually invisible to everyone else.
Change the wireless broadcast channel. Often times, the channel is set to 6 or 9. If you live in a typical housing development or apartment complex, that could mean up six or more neighbors jockeying for the same channel. Jump onto a different channel so your router doesn’t compete with your neighbor’s.
Lastly, make sure to use a wireless password. WEP is the weakest protection, and WPA is the strongest. It is a pain to have to enter this information in and remember it, but it will secure your network and prevent cheap neighbors from riding your wireless for free.

Every router and modem are different and change constantly, so use these guidelines to setup your situation securely per your individual equipment’s instructions. If you have lost the instructions or the disk that came with your modem or router, visit the manufacturer’s web site to download a new copy. For more information on home networking and wireless, visit our complete guide to home networking here.