If the popups and sudden system slowdown aren’t sufficient indicators, here are two other ways to tell that you have spyware.
1. Tons of toolbars in Internet Explorer
2. More than 10 items in the system tray by the clock
Special thanks to my client who unknowingly contributed material for this video which I recorded with my cell phone.
When we vacation, checking our snail mail is either left up to a house sitter or a neighbor. However, email is something we don't usually delegate to these fine folks who keep track of our snail mail and newspapers. Did you know that you can check your email from almost anywhere in the world?
It's true and this week's tip shows you how to do it. All email is sent not to you, but first to your provider. They don't read it, but it sits on their computers until you retrieve it, thus allowing you to check it remotely. While you are away from your home computer on vacation, the mail sits and accumulates on the provider's computer. You can check in on your email by logging into your provider's web site from any computer that has Internet access and read and write email.
I have seen a lot of power supply failures lately. This seems to happen every summer but I don't keep detailed enough statistics to prove it. I am not sure why it happens either. It could be that people turn off their computers for summer vacation and it is the first time the computer has really been turned off in a long time. This might give things a chance to cool down and become brittle. Maybe it is just a coincidence.
In addition to the power supply failures, I have seen a variety of other problems lately that are typically rare such as hard drive failures, power button failures, and dead printers.
Today I saw two clients who described their situation the same. They each had broadband Internet and could get online with one computer that was wired to the network but not with a wireless.
When I got to each of these locations they were each connected to the wireless network but weren't getting any Internet. The first client was connected to the wrong network, an ad hoc connection to an HP device somewhere.
The second client was much more complicated. Like the first they were able to connect to the wireless network (even the correct wireless network) but not the Internet. It turns out that was just the beginning. They also had a printer that would print just fine from anywhere except from a remote Quickbooks terminal (too geek to explain). They were also trying to setup an new network based time clock.
What did you do with your time before you got a computer?
I know that I watched more TV and read more magazines and books. I have to admit that I also think that I spent more time outside than I do now (except summers where it is hard to stay inside except on the hottest days). My information gathering has changed. What I used to rely on newspaper and TV for, I get first on the computer. Or if I read something or hear something interesting, I research it further on the Internet.
What I really am aiming this question at is businesses. As much as a computer can help a business do more work faster and potentially better, I see an awful lot of employees and business owners waste a lot of time trying to learn a computer skill or solve a problem. Seeking answers isn't the problem, but knowing how and where to seek the answers is important to avoid wasting time.
If you do any online shopping and/or banking, user name and passwords have infiltrated your life. Many of my customers can easily knock one-half hour or more off their bill if they kept track of their passwords. I get many blank stares when I'm troubleshooting a machine and need to log into an Internet service or web site and I ask the customer for their password. Often times I receive the classic, "I don't have a password."
Everyone has a password for email, their bank, any other online service you might sign up for be it banking or a community forum.
I love my job as a computer guy. Especially tutoring and teaching average people (seniors, parents, non-geeks) how too use computers. Everyday I meet interesting people, see new challenges and play with new toys.
Today I was thinking about what could possibly make my job more fun and I had a great idea.
I would love to be a computer guy on a cruise ship. Not to maintain the ship's computers but to teach tourists and help them with their computer problems. Most cruises feature entertainers, exercise classes, theaters and all kinds of ways to stay busy.
Cruise ships also offer wireless Internet access. Tourists bring their laptops, digital cameras and other gadgets along with them. I can't help but think that some of these travelers would love to take a break from the buffet and take a computer or digital photography class.
With so many options for backing up today, people often get confused on which method is right for them.
Typically there are three methods for backing up:
1. CD or DVD
2. Flash drive
3. External hard drive
The method you choose should depend on the type of backup you are doing.
CDs hold 700MB (about 300 pictures) while DVDs hold 4,700MB. But the amount of data that they hold is not as important as what you use the disks for. CDs and DVDs are best for archiving data that will likely never change such as pictures, old word processing documents, important tax or financial records, etc. Once you write information to a CD or DVD consider that disk finished and do not try to add more to it.
For many computer users, viewing some web sites can be frustrating because
text tends to be too small. Since many of you might be using Internet
Explorer 7, take advantage of the improved zoom functuon in it. To access
the zoom function:
1. Click Page from the menu in the upper right of the screen
2. Click Zoom from the menu
3. Choose a Zoom value from the options (I recommend trying the 125% first
and then move up from there)
Because of the method used to create some web sites, zooming can distort
some features on the site. It isn’t a perfect solution for zooming hard to
The last few weeks I have seen many clients who own multiple computers and are learning to use a computer network to take advantage of printers, Internet connections and file sharing. If you own more than one computer and a high speed Internet connection, you need to consider connecting the computers together via a network. Doing so will allow you to own just one printer that all the computers can print to, take advantage of high speed Internet by having all the computers be online at the same time, and move files back and forth via the network.
Home networking isn't too difficult to setup and the benefits far outweigh the little bit of work and cost required to get it started. For a primer on networking your computers, visit our Networking Setup Guide .