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Email of the Week – 021

Correo helado / Frozen mail
photo credit: diegoperez74

QUESTION

Name:  Barb

From:   Grand Junction,CO

OS:      Windows Vista

———————-
If I install Windows 7 and I find I do not like it, can I re-install Vista on my HP Laptop by using the recovery Disk, then I would have to set it all up again?
Is it necessary to have Winows 7 professionaly installed, or is it as easy as the Beta version you installed?
Thanks for all you do, you have helped me so much over the years.

ANSWER

First, you are welcome…I appreciate the kind words and hope you keep talking about me and referring people to the site for years more to come.

And, yes, you can definitelyRead More »Email of the Week – 021

Fun night at Windows 7 Launch Party

Adam is on the left, I'm not paying attention to photographer @kettlewell
Adam is on the left, I'm not paying attention to photographer @kettlewell

My radio show co-host, Adam Cochran, sponsored a Windows 7 launch party tonight, and I helped out. We both setup our laptops and projectors and showed off some of the Windows 7 features and answered general questions about upgrading, buying new computers, what software was included, and more. We talked about the new taskbar, increased search abilities, demonstrated the Home Groups feature by sharing some folders back and forth, talked about the less intrusive User Account Control (UAC), demonstrated the snap to edge for positioning windows, the shake technique and how the system installs faster with greater driver support.

Many computer users continue to believe that Microsoft Office (more specifically Word) is included in Windows. Word has never beenRead More »Fun night at Windows 7 Launch Party

Rick Answers his Email Videocast – 063

Wow, tons of great questions this week from Donna, Deborah, Craig, Jay, Chris, Larry, Gloria, Jack, Ralph, James, Robert, Darren, Leo (who just said hi), Marge, Janette, Joyce, Leo Jason, Emir, Bob, Glenna, Enoch, and Alice. In order, they asked questions about installing Flash in Firefox, a stolen email address, moving to a Mac, viewing large pictures sent as email… Read More »Rick Answers his Email Videocast – 063

Password Mania

We are bringing this tip out of the archives because remembering passwords and having strong passwords is more important than ever with increased identity theft and the increased amount of business we conduct over the web.

I have accumulated nearly ninety user names and passwords for various email services, web sites, banking sites, etc. Without my password tracking software, I wouldn’t be able to remember them all or, I would be using the same user name and password for every instance (an extremely dangerous practice). You can use software solutions to securely save passwords on your computer or Read More »Password Mania

Protect Your Identity

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.

Why use free security software?

free 'sweet' hugs
photo credit: kalandrakas

A customer asked me a question that I get asked quite often on the radio show and when I’m making my daily house or office visits. “Why do you use free products versus the larger commercial pay products for keeping a computer secure?”

My answer can be summed up in word: effectiveness.

Time and time again, the products I recommend prove themselves in the field as being thorough, effective, and unobtrusive programs. Unobtrusive is a big one for me these days as the leaders in security software (Norton, McAfee, etc) bloat their software beyond recognition and slow down even the fastest, newest machines. Norton claims that their newest versions areRead More »Why use free security software?

A quicker way to Rename folders and files in Windows

Windows XP, Vista and the upcoming version 7 continue to help us accomplish certain computer tasks more quickly.

One of my favorite features involves the renaming of files. You can still use the techniques I outlined in a previous tip, but renaming files can be even faster with the right steps. If you have the need to rename a group of files (for example a group of freshly downloaded pictures from your digital camera), you can select them and rename them in groups. Here’s how:Read More »A quicker way to Rename folders and files in Windows

Rick Answers his Email Videocast -062

This week’s questions are brought to you by Mike, Todd, Paul, Randall, John, Bob, William, Warren, Bob, Raymond, Che, Dennis and Monica. In order, they asked questions about; digital camera repair, lost CD drives, Vista startup nags, deleting Facebook account, programs for checking drivers, stubborn desktop icons, lost search feature in XP, lost password for helpmerick.com??, free Microsoft Word download,… Read More »Rick Answers his Email Videocast -062