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Computer Tips

Why you should always backup

Search my site for the word backup and you will find many, many tips on how to backup your valuable data. I stumbled on this video today that shows how recovery services can recover lost data, but at a price of up to $2500. The video also has a few good shots of what the innards of a hard drive look like when running which is educational to watch as well. Take a look:Read More »Why you should always backup

Beware of this type of spam

Below is an example of an email spam (unwanted email) that is increasing in frequency. Overall, the email looks to be legit and normal. However, there are two parts of the email that you need to pay particular attention to:

  1. Who is it from? In the example below, I have no idea who Allison is. Red flag number 1. If you don’t recognize the name or the email address, be suspicious.
  2. Link in the email uses an URL (web address) shortener service. If I don’t know who it is from, I’m darn sure not going to click the unidentified link. Red flag number 2.

I started using TinyURL.com years ago in my email and on the radio to be able to quickly and clearly send someone to a long web site address with little hassle. However, with the rising popularity of Twitter and other quick messaging and blog services, more and more URL shortener services have emerged. Most of which have no problems. The problem is Read More »Beware of this type of spam

Email of the Week – 009

Mailbox
photo credit: cindy47452

QUESTION

Name:  Patrick

From:   gj

OS:      Windows XP

———————-

Solving email problems
Saturday, July 22nd, 2006 | Email Tips | Rick

Rick, the two email tips in this post could not be found.  Are they still applicable?

ANSWER

Thanks for writing and thanks for finding more dead links here at HelpMeRick.com. Some of the tips here date back to 1996, when I first started this site. And the site has undergone many transitions and improvements since then.

For that reason, it helps me and many others who visit the site when I get a chance to correct tips like the one you were reading. To answer your question, the Read More »Email of the Week – 009

Gmail adds drag and drop to labels

In my mind, Gmail solidified their hold at the top of the email mountain by adding drag and drop functionality to their innovative labels system. Look for a quick video demoing this feature in the near future. In the interim, read the full article from Google below and read and watch my Gmail tips by clicking here. Official Gmail Blog:… Read More »Gmail adds drag and drop to labels

Creating an email group in Gmail – Video Tip

I’m thrilled that so many people are heeding my advice and starting to use Gmail. Search Gmail here at the site to find three how-to videos about Gmail to see why so many people are jumping to Gmail.

New Gmail users frequently ask me how to setup an address group in Gmail. Groups allow you to send a single email to a group of people in your address book by addressing the message to the group instead of the individuals in the group.

To create the group:

  1. In Gmail, click the contacts link
  2. Click the New Group icon
  3. Type a name for your new group
  4. Click OK
  5. Click All Contacts
  6. Place a check mark in the boxes of the contacts you want to belong to your new group
  7. Click the Groups menu
  8. Click the name of the group you want for them

That’s it! It makes more sense watching it being done so watch the video below to see these steps in action AND see how to use your group after you have built it!

Printable Gmail Tip Sheet

Google just released a printable reference guide you can download for free. The PDF file downloads quick and contains two pages of tips from beginner to advanced. If you print the two pages on one sheet of paper (front/back), it can be laminated and be a great reference tool to keep next to your computer. Remember you can also watch… Read More »Printable Gmail Tip Sheet

Adding RAM to increase computer speed – Video Tip

RAM is the temporary memory that the computer uses to give us the feeling of programs opening and running with some pep. It’s like giving your computer a larger desk to work from so it can spread out and find things more efficiently. RAM also allows us to open multiple computer programs at the same time with less impact on the speed of the computer.

256 megabytes used to be a lot of RAM. Today, I’m recommending users have at least