Do not open attachments from people YOU KNOW

Image via Wikipedia Yes, you read that correctly. Those of you who have followed this site and my show since its early days in the 90s know that I have always warned against opening attachments from people you know. Probably the most egregious security problem among emailers is the myth that opening email and attachments is safe as long it is from someone they know. I hear this statement at least five times per week...

Print only what you want – Multi-tip

How many times do you curse at your printer when you print a joke from email or some web page information and get two or more extra sheets of paper with useless information? Follow this tip and experience printing bliss from email or Internet and your word processor too! On the web, Select the text (by clicking and dragging with your mouse) that you would like to print Click File and Print from the menus (don’t click...

Save Money on Computer Repair Bills

It’s no secret that I am a computer consultant/trainer/troubleshooter. So, why would I potentially take food out of my own hand by writing this tip? Three reasons: I like to help people and share knowledge I dislike troubleshooting messes that could have prevented and I enjoy teaching people how to get the most out of their computers instead of being frustrated and constantly battling or worrying about the...

Extricating Spyware

Article updated: July 2010 In 2004, spyware/adware became the #1 threat to personal computers. For a definition of spyware, visit Webopedia. Getting rid of spyware has reached a point that it takes an expert, or a lot of persistence, to really get rid of it totally. Following is a list of steps that we frequently take to completely restore a compromised computer. Depending on the level of problems, we may omit some steps,...

7 ways to become a more efficient web user –...

This is a reintroduction and retitling of a previous video/tip because of a copyright infringement complaint fromFranklin Covey. Hopefully, the new title and verbiage will satisfy their legal staff. All week long I help computer users of all ages and experience levels. Too often, I see that many computer users (beginners and experienced alike) do not utilize or know about some basic web browsing skills that will speed their...

Become a web surfing pro!

At this month’s computer user group meeting, I used many of the articles, tips and videos I have written over the years to highlight how any computer user can start making quicker and better use of the Internet. Before I delve into specifics on this topic, watching and reading this tip title 7 ways to become a better web surfer, will yield you the greatest benefit if you read nothing else on this page. Do it! Now! First...

How to save time & money when printing email ...

The web and email were not meant to be printable items, but we love to print many things we receive via email or the web. In this tip, I’m going to teach you how to use less paper and ink when printing AND get better looking printouts for things you do want to print. If you combine this new tip with my Print Preview tip, my print what you want tip,  and learn how to use your printer’s draft mode (if available),...

Computer Help Show Podcast 04-21-10

Calls were down this month, but we more than made up for it with some great high tech banter on topics including Norton’s pathetic antivirus, the iPad, the lost and found iPhone prototype, new grad laptop recommendations, and much more!! If you missed the live show, you can catch us next month…the live show will be Wednesday, May 19 from Noon-1pm Mountain Time! Podcast: Play in new window | Download

How to type in your password correctly the FIRST t...

We use passwords to log into web sites continuously through the day. Your passwords should be long and complicated, but that makes them tough to type in accurately on the first try (since password fields are masked with dots or asterisks). Or, if you are using a netbook or mobile phone, the combination of a small keyboard and longer passwords can be extremely tricky. Save yourself some time and energy by using the power of...

7 Internet Security Tips to Save You Time & M...

I write about Internet security frequently because I see too many breaches of Internet security every single day. And by Internet security, I’m referring to keeping your computer free of spyware, fake security software and other annoying, time consuming, and expensive ailments that can strike your computer. THESE TYPES OF INFECTIONS ARE PREVENTABLE. First, I need to exempt Mac and Linux (Ubuntu) users from reading this...

Slow computer or slow Internet?

A common problem I hear throughout my week is “My computer is slow.” I finally learned to ask, “Is your computer slow, or is your Internet slow?” The computer user usually pauses, thinks and often responds that it is his or her Internet that is slow; not the computer. When I sit down at a client’s computer, I can quickly determine the health of a computer based on how quickly I can perform simple...

Firefox 3.0 Bookmark & History Search –...

This is a re-release of an almost 2 year old tip that you probably missed…it will save you boat loads of time!!! Firefox 3.0 was released last week after a long development period. The Mozilla folks put together an extremely good package and made genuine improvements in speed and features…a rare accomplishment in today’s software arena where programs get larger and less usable. The feature I use the most, so...

Trust me, the cloud makes life easier & cheap...

Over the past few weeks, I witnessed many situations in my daily computer help rounds that would have been far less painful and costly for the computer user IF they utilized the cloud. The cloud I refer to is a broad term for using programs found on the web versus on your computer. Another commonly used term for this type of computing is Web 2.0. Here are some examples of problems I ran into recently that could have been...

How to use tearable tabs in your browser – V...

This is a quick tip on using an extra feature of tabbed browsing. What’s tabbed browsing? If you aren’t using tabbed browsing yet, you need to start…today! Click here to get started and learn how to put this powerful feature of all modern browsers to work for you. Today’s intermediate tabbed browsing tip only works in Firefox, Google Chrome, and Opera. Microsoft has not implemented it yet in Internet...

5 Simple Rules to avoid SCD (Slow Computer Disease...

I’ve written about this before, but it bares repeating on occasion for new visitors to the site and long time visitors who haven’t learned yet. The advice is simple: Do not download free screensavers, wallpaper, email programs (Incredimail, etc), or games from the Internet. Unless you are WELL versed in the origin of these items, they can easily destroy your computer’s ability to compute. “Slow...