Home

Courses

Resources

Soho Cafe

About Us

ScamBusters

Hoaxkill

HoaxBusters

Urban Legends

Vmyths

CNET

Google

WindowWalk Times Archive

Subscribe

Unsubscribe

Visit on the web, send an email , or call 830-9336 to learn more about our effective software training or to give us your comments and suggestions.

Small Business Owners: WindowWalk Computer Education specializes in QuickBooks and Simply Accounting training to help make your and your tax preparer's task easier. Take advantage of our QuickBooks ProAdvisor's 20+ years of small business accounting experience.

Accountants: Do you have any clients whose computer files are not in the best shape? We can help. Our on-site training is customized for each client's needs and we work directly with you to make sure your client maintains the books to your and their requirements.

Beginners: Our Windows Foundation course gives you all the basics you need to use your computer. Learn about the internet and email with us and raise your comfort level quickly to get you out exploring cyberspace on your own.

We want everyone to have a more comfortable experience with their computer. Call us today for a free consultation or assessment .

WindowWalk Computer Education is proud to serve you as a QuickBooks ProAdvisor and as a member of:

Serving Seniors - Your Resource of Dedicated Professionals
Metro Business Association
Centre for Women in Business

TECH EXPERT

Do It Yourself Computer Maintenance

Learn the 7 easy steps to keep your computer running smoothly. By following these simple steps, you will avoid most of the problems that cause you to visit your computer dealer for repairs.

1. Backups
Too many people who come into our office with a dead hard drive ask “…doesn’t a dying hard drive give you a warning?” Computers are being made cheaper and computers are forced to last longer. Drives do fail. Back up data that you don’t want to lose. There is no need to backup software. Backup daily, weekly, as often as what you don’t want to re-type. Store it away from the computer to protect from fire. You can use:
• Diskette
• CD or DVD burners
• Tape drives
• Removable hard drives
• Memory Key

2. Anti-Virus
Overall people are doing a good job at this. A couple of years ago, every second computer coming in to the shop was filled with viruses and viruses like the LOVE virus were in the news every week. Get good quality anti-virus software, stay away from free stuff. There are two parts to the software – the program and the virus signatures. Update the signatures weekly. Do full scans weekly. Make sure it is turned on for “Real Time Scanning”. Do not expect you network provider to do this job for you!

3. Spyware
Currently the biggest problem we see. Definition: A technology that assists in gathering information about a person or organization without their knowledge. On the Internet, "Spyware is programming that is put in someone's computer to secretly gather information about the user and relay it to advertisers or other interested parties." As such, spyware is cause for public concern about privacy on the Internet. Use good quality spyware removers – notice I used plural – use more than one. DO NOT respond to “pop-ups saying you have spyware, would you like it removed?”. These will remove some but then add their own spyware programs. Sample solutions are: Spyware Eliminator, Spy Sweeper, Spyware Doctor, Pest Patrol, McAfee Antispyware, Ad-Aware and many more. Run full scans “as often as you need to” or if you notice your system is running slower”. Some common spy’s are: DoubleClick, Adserver, Gator and FastClick.

4. Cool your computer
As stated before, computers are being made cheaper and computers are forced to last longer. Heat will shorten the life of a computer. The motherboard will cook its capacitors. Turn it off if you are not going to use it for an extended period. I turn it off on the weekend but I know I will pay the price of killing my motherboard. Put extra cooling fans into your system. Do not park it up against a desk so it can’t circulate its air. Cat hair and dust will clog the vents. Blow it out yourself or ask someone who knows how to do it

5. Firewall
You have anti-virus, you have anti-spyware, but the enemy can still get in. Hackers can “ping” you address and “share” your hard drive. Get a software firewall or use the firewall on your router. Again, do not expect you network provider to do this job for you!

6. Software Updates
The software on your computer was developed by companies and those companies are continuously updating their software. Keep up to date with their improvements. A good PC dealer, like CCS, will update your software when you bring your computer in. You can also do it yourself. One exception: Microsoft’s Windows XP Service Pack 2. It was created to fix many of the “holes” in Windows that spyware and viruses use to get in. The key problem is that it is too restrictive. It tends to hang computers that have other software installed. New computers that already have it are not as affected. This is the one pitch I’ll make for all PC dealers - let us install SP2.

7. Upgrades and Memory
We often get people coming in asking if they can upgrade their 1.0Ghz processor to a 3.2 processor or upgrade their Windows 98 to XP Home. Don’t. Motherboards are designed with a particular family of processors in mind. A motherboard with a 1.0Ghz processor would have been designed to only accept processors ranging from 800Mhz to 1.1Ghz. The memory is also matched to the motherboard’s internal speed. Don’t upgrade a computer from Windows 98 to XP. A PC with 128MB of memory and 600Mhz processor is not powerful enough to properly run XP. Stay on 98 or throw it out and buy a new one with XP installed.

At CCS we recommend only 2 types of upgrades: more memory or a full “heart transplant”. With a few exceptions, computers will always benefit from more memory. Minimum for XP is 256MB, 512 is better. A well known manufacturer of PCs used to offer PCs with XP and only 128MB – frankly that was disgraceful. The one exception: Windows 98 was designed when computers had 32MB of memory. It doesn’t have the ability to properly utilize 256MB of memory. When we do a “heart transplant” we match up a processor, motherboard, memory and power supply and then install these components into your system. Everything matches and everything runs smoothly.

This article was authored by Andy Butler of Compatible Computer Services; (902) 420-1212. CCS provides sales and service support for PCs and Restaurant & Retail Point of Sales systems and develops client-specific custom-built business software applications.

Back to Top

SURFIN' SAFARI

Some Useful and Interesting Web Sites

WHAT DOES IT DO?

Picasa

Picasa is a free software download from Google that helps you find, edit, organize and share your photos. Picasa lets you edit and add effects to your photos with a few simple clicks and can organize your entire collection while you watch, scanning the images on your computer and automatically sorting them by date.

Want to clean up messy folders and move pictures around on your computer's hard drive? Simply drag and drop pictures from one folder in Picasa to another. Picasa will make the change permanent after double-checking with you. Want to change a picture's filename from 671056398a.jpg to Lisa.jpg? In Picasa, it only takes seconds to re-name one picture or a group of pictures.

Use the "Albums" collection to tag your photos into quick groupings inside Picasa. Viewing and sharing the pictures you grouped under an album is easy - they make great slideshows and movies or you can email them to friends.

Give a gold star to any photo you love - it turns your favourites into visual standouts at a glance. Picasa even has a star search that reduces your entire photo collection to the best of the best in less than a second.

You can keep one picture in multiple albums as Picasa creates a new "instance" of each photo you label without taking up more space on your computer, so you can put the same picture into multiple albums.

Have photos you want to keep to yourself? You can add passwords to any of your Picasa collections (this does not affect which pictures you and others can see on your computer's hard drive).

Download Picasa free from Google

SAY WHAT!?

Sound Like a Computer Wizard

HARDWARE HELPER

Top 5 Mice

Logitech's laser mouse is accurate and cordless, with long battery life. What more could you want in a mouse?

The Logitech VX Revolution Cordless Laser Mouse for Notebooks is the ultimate mousing experience on the go, providing comfort, performance, and features in a travel-friendly form factor. If you can afford its price, you won't be disappointed.

Microsoft Wireless Optical Mouse

Microsoft's new Wireless Optical Mouse is the ultimate choice for everyday mousing.

The Logitech MX518's adjustable sensitivity, customizable buttons, and comfortable grip are sure to please right-handed gamers.

Logitech finally earns a CNET Editors' Choice award with this update to its flagship gaming mouse. An extra thumb button, an updated laser sensor, and more convenient and flexible customization options than the competition make this mouse easy to recommend to any PC gamer.

SOFTWARE SEARCH

Microsoft Word 2007

Microsoft Word 2007's document types, interface, and some features - very nearly every aspect of this word processor - have changed. With this update, Microsoft Word 2007 becomes a more image-conscious application. New picture-editing tools help you deck out documents and play with fancy fonts. Bloggers and researchers may also benefit. It's easier to get a handle on document security, but those who only need basic typing features may not want to relearn the interface or deal with the new file formats.

Once you have Word 2007 running, you will notice a completely redesigned toolbar, now known as the Ribbon, with many familiar commands in new places. Instead of the old, gray drop-down menus atop the page. Some tabs don't show up until you might need them; for example, you must select a picture to bring up its formatting tab. At first, you'll need to wander around to find what's moved from prior versions of Word. Clicking the Office 2007 logo in the upper-left corner drops down a menu of staple functions - such as opening, saving, and printing files--that were under Word 2003's File menu. We had the hardest time locating commands from Word 2003's Editing and Tools menus. Prepare to relearn Word. Alas, there is no "classic" view to help you make the transition to the 2007 version.

Microsoft placed a lot of emphasis on the wow factor of Office's galleries of graphics, which share the Aero look of Windows Vista and are found throughout the Office applications. Pull-down menus of fonts, color themes, and images let you preview changes on the page before making them. And thankfully, Microsoft killed Clippit, the cartoon paperclip helper. Now a less-intrusive quick formatting toolbar shows up near your cursor. A running word count is always present in the lower-left corner, and the new slider bar for zooming in and out is a terrific, no-brainer improvement, particularly for the vision impaired.

Aside from the interface, the other radical change in Word 2007 is its new file type. For the first time in a decade, Microsoft foists a new file format upon users, and old Word DOC files make way for the new DOCX type of Word 2007. Microsoft has taken steps to ease this transition, but we anticipate that it will not be smooth for many users.

What happens when you're sharing work with people who use an older version of Word? Word 2003 and 2000 are supposed to detect when you first try to open a DOCX file, then prompt you to download and install an Office 2007 Compatibility Pack. After you've done this, the older Word should convert your Word 2007 files and remove incompatible features. When you reopen that same DOCX file again in Word 2007, the file's original elements are supposed to stay intact. On the other hand, if you open an older DOC file within Word 2007, it will also run in Compatibility Mode, shutting off access to some of the newer program features, which explains why two documents within Word 2007 may display different formatting options.

Among the small tweaks in Word 2007 that make formatting easier, rollover style galleries let you preview the changes. However, the constant shape-shifting of the galleries can be distracting. And some options, such as for adjusting margins, use an older-style dialog box rather than the live preview menus.

In Word 2007, Calibri, a crisp, default font, replaces the standard Times New Roman from Word 2003. You can choose from galleries of text styles, such as Emphasis, Strong, or Book Title, and easily create your own styles and set them as a default.
While Corel WordPerfect has traditionally offered better features for managing longer documents, Microsoft Word 2007 has improved a bit in this regard.

Is Word 2007 worth the upgrade? If you primarily work with plain text and don't need to pretty up reports and newsletters and the like, then it might not be right for you. For our purposes as editors, for instance, Word 2007 doesn't introduce must-have goodies, although commenting commands are within easier reach. At the same time, Word 2007 handily presents options for footnotes and citations under its References tab, which researchers should appreciate. Mail-merge functions are also easier to reach. Bloggers might use Word's posting tools in a pinch, but we found Word 2007's rebuilt HTML to be clunky still. Above all, Microsoft's new word processor is most upgrade-worthy if you want to play with pictures, charts, and diagrams in addition to text.

CNET Rating: 7.8 Very Good

Read the full review at CNET

WEB WARY

All About Viruses

Part 2 - What Kind of Damage Can a Virus Do?

The damage a computer virus can inflict on your system depends on many things, including how sophisticated the virus is. Here is a short listing of the types of damage viruses can do to your computer -- they can really hit you where it hurts:

• Some viruses can delete or change files. Some viruses will delete all of your documents, or even reformat your hard drive, making your computer unusable.
• Some viruses can release confidential information like credit card information, account numbers, and passwords by emailing it to random email addresses or the address of the virus writer.
• Some viruses can slow down your system dramatically.
• Some viruses plant monitoring software or change security settings that allow hackers to enter your computer without you knowing about it and steal information or control it.
• Other viruses, like the Internet worm that hit recently, also can have widespread effects on computer networks and the Internet.

How do you know if you have a computer virus?

• If you're not running an antivirus program (see the next section), you may not know at all since many viruses are benign. Some symptoms of a virus infection are:
• Your computer displays strange messages, plays music, or shows odd graphic displays.
• Your computer takes longer to boot up, operates more slowly than usual, and takes longer to start programs.
• Your computer has much less memory or hard drive space available.

Some legitimate software can cause these symptoms, so *the only way you can be sure your computer is virus-free is to regularly scan it for viruses using antivirus software*.

How Can You Protect Your Computer From Viruses?

As we've indicated, you need antivirus software to be safe. You should consider the cost of the software as part of the purchase of your computer -- it's that important.

Once you've installed the antivirus software, you will need to download regular updates that tells the antivirus software about new viruses and how to detect them. Most antivirus software comes with a year's worth of updates, and you can usually set the software to either automatically download the updates, or display a reminder for you to do so.

This is vital since there are over 500 new viruses discovered each month!

Norton AntiVirus and McAfee VirusScan are the two best-known antivirus programs for the Microsoft Windows operating systems. For Macintosh users, Norton AntiVirus and McAfee's Virex for Macintosh provide protection. For Linux users, try RAV AntiVirus.

While the vast majority of viruses are written to infect Windows-based systems, Macintosh and Linux users should still also have virus protection.

All antivirus software lets you scan the computer's memory and hard drive for viruses. Depending on the software package, the antivirus program may also be able to protect against:

• Incoming emails and email attachments with viruses.
• Viruses received through instant messaging, such as ICQ.
• Infected downloaded files, before you open the file.
• Attacks against your computer from outside (firewall software).

If you prefer not paying for internet security, AVG Anti-Virus provides a free version of its antivirus program and free updates for Windows-based computers. And if you just want to scan your computer for viruses for free right now, check out Trend Micro's free online virus scan and McAfee FreeScan.

Look for Part 3 - How Can Your Computer Catch a Virus? in the next issue.

To read more about viruses and scams, click here.

TIZZIE'S TIPS AND TRICKS

Change the Default Folder in Word and WordPerfect

Both Word and WordPerfect use the My Documents folder by default when you open or save your documents. Some people prefer to keep their documents in folders other than the standard My Documents folder for many reasons. Both programs make it easy for you to change the default folder.

In Word:

Click the Tools menu and select Options from the list. Click the File Locations tab in the Options dialog box. Click "Documents" in the File Type list and click the Modify button. A familiar file location dialog box opens where you can navigate to or create a new folder to use as the default document folder. Now when you open existing document or save new documents, the new folder will open automatically for you.

In WordPerfect:

Click the Tools menu and select Settings from the list. Click the Files button in the Settiings dialog box. Click the Documents tab (if it is not already displayed) and click the Browse button on the left of the Default Document Folder area. A Select Folder dialog box opens where you can navigate to or create a new folder to use as the default document folder. Now when you open existing document or save new documents, the new folder will open automatically for you.

Send Tizzie YOUR Question!