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Helpful Information
Below you will find information to help you improve
your computing experience.
Contact us at (613) 721-2082 to make it even easier!
Tip of the Month
Ccleaner |
- Ccleaner is a powerful little program that will help you keep your computer
hard drive cleaner
- It goes through the hard drive, looks for all the temporary files (hidden
in many different places), as well as the little update files for your
anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall, and other programs such as Adobe Reader,
Java and more
- Download it from
www.filehippo.com/download_ccleaner and install it
- Note: DO NOT use the registry cleaner! There are good reasons to
clean a Windows registry, but it should only be done by a very experienced
person, AFTER it has been backed in at least two ways. If you need help, please
contact us. (Everyone with Windows 2000/XP/Vista
should use ERUNT to back up your registry.)
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| Children
Online |
- With more and more families going online to access more and more useful
and fun information, it is important that we teach our kids to be safe online.
There are simple measures that any family can take to ensure the safety of
their children. The first is to not save Internet or email access passwords in
the computer. This leads to the second, which is spending time with your
children and supervising their online activities. Anyone can publish anything
on the Internet. It is up to us to provide safe and appropriate ways for our
children to access desirable information.
- We don't believe that filters are the answer; rather, that parents and
other family members help children learn safe Internet practices, and are not
left alone online. We can help you make Internet activity fun and safe for your
children.
- Good resources include the Canadian
www.media-awareness.ca,
www.badguypatrol.ca and
www.safekids.com in the
US.
- A national anti-porn program is enlisting web surfers across Canada to help
hunt child predators. Cybertip.ca was officially launched Jan. 24/05 to clamp
down on the sexual exploitation of children. A pilot of the tipline that began
in Manitoba in 2002 led to 10 charges and 400 websites shut down in a short
time.
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| Defrag your
computer - with Diskeeper |
- Disk fragmentation causes crashes, slowdowns, freeze-ups and even total
system failures.
- Diskeeper from Executive Software (www.execsoft.com) is a much
better defragmentation program than the standard Defrag that comes with
Windows.
- Diskeeper Lite is a short version introduction to full-featured Diskeeper.
Diskeeper Lite can only analyze fragmentation levels and run manual
defragmentation on one disk volume at a time and can help anyone to select the
right automated defragmentation software for homes and/or business sites. It is
available as a
courtesy download
- Run weekly by double clicking on the desktop shortcut. (Just click the red
x at the top right corner to close the advertising window that pops up.) Click
"Analyze", and it will tell you how many fragmented files are in your
system. Then click OK to close the popup window with that information, and
click "Defragment now". When finished, a report will pop up, and you
can close the program. (Note, popups may appear when you start the computer
telling you how many fragments are present. You can choose to run the program
whenever the warnings appear, but usually once a week is enough.)
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| Desktop
Toolbar |
- When open programs cover the desktop icon shortcuts to your programs, there
is a quick and easy way to access them in Windows.
- To create the Desktop toolbar, just right click your mouse on any
"empty" area of the taskbar at the bottom of your screen, and click
on "Toolbars", then on "Desktop". The word
"Desktop"' will appear on the right side of your taskbar, left of the
clock and any other program icons, with a double arrow >> to the right.
- Clicking on the double arrow will bring up a menu listing all the icon
shortucts and folders on your desktop, and you can click on any of them to open
the program as usual.
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| Dialup
Monitor |
- A very useful little program is Dial-Up Networking Monitor, available from
jongrieve.net/dunmon
- and where you'll find a very good FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions). It shows
the throughput on Windows 95/98 Dial-Up Networking and Windows NT RAS
connections. The throughput is shown in the form of a fully configurable graph
window and as detailed statistics.
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| How to
download and install software |
- To download software from the web, first make sure you are getting software
from a reputable site. Click on the "Download" link to start the
download. Save it into your computer (be sure to note which directory you saved
it to). When it's finished, click on Start, then on Run and then on Browse
(find where you saved it), click on the file you saved, and then on Open and
finally OK. This will start the installation of the software.
- We provide some files to
download from
our site as a convenience for you.
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| Firewalls |
- Computers connected to the Internet are at risk of attack from unscrupulous
hackers, especially those connected via high speed connections (cable or DSL).
Hackers may attempt to take control of your computer for their own use. In the
worst case, this could include the placing of child porn on your computer for
distribution without your knowledge.
- We recommend the use of the free ZoneAlarm firewall program,
available at www.zonelabs.com - choose the item that says
"Get Basic PC Protection" to get the free version.
- During installation, it can pre-configure your computer for Internet
access, but you will have to give permission for each program outside the
standard connection. If it is a program you know (your email program or web
browser or antivirus/security programs), click on "Remember this
setting" so you won't be asked again for that program. You can change
settings program by program at any time by clicking on Program Control, then
Programs. Click under Access to set "Allow, Block or Ask" status for
each program.
- Please note that you can review the tutorial at any time by double clicking
on the tray icon (ZA or red/green traffic bars) then on Overview, Status and
finally Tutorial. Clicking on Preferences will allow you to check for updates
to the program.
- If you have given permission for a program you don't want, or denied
access to a program you do want, double click on the ZA in the task bar, then
when it opens ZoneAlarm, click on Program Control on the left, then on Programs
- it will show you a list of those allowed (green check mark) and denied (red
x). Blue question marks mean the program asks each time. To change a setting,
just click on either the check mark, x or question mark, then change to what
you want.
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| Clean those
"forwards"! |
- It seems we all want to share jokes or information we receive in emails
with others. So often these messages come to us forwarded from yet another
source, full of email addresses and ">" symbols.
- There are two reasons you should "clean" the messages before
passing them on. The first is just courtesy to your readers not to have to wade
through all the forwarding symbols ">". The second is that you
really shouldn't be passing on all those email addresses - you don't know who
might read your email in the future, and passing on others' email addresses can
leave them open to receiving more "spam".
- A good tool exists to easily clean up text. Called "eCleaner", it
is a small program that is quick to download, and easy to install and use. To
clean text, simply highlight the part of the message you want to pass on, copy
it to eCleaner, click on "Clean" then on "Clean text". Then
just copy the cleaned text into a new email message and send it on to your
friends and/or family.
- You can download eCleaner
from our website
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| Hoaxes |
- Please NEVER pass on stories about seriously ill children and
adults, missing persons, petitions, etc. without checking the source. Most are
internet hoaxes and are listed as such. When you receive word of an ill person,
consider if you know the originating source (not just the person who sent it to
you). Be very leery of items sent asking that they be passed on, that happen to
people you do not know. Only if it is from a friend who has personally
experienced the event, or is personally acquainted with the situation, should
it be believed. (And the news people get these wrong at times too! Several such
stories have been reported in the media, then found to be false.)
- Some wonderful sites to check out hoaxes are:
antivirus.about.com/library/blenhoax.htm
www.snopes2.com
www.TruthOrFiction.com
urbanlegends.about.com/library/blxatoz.htm
These list both "urban legends" (stories about people or events) and
virus hoaxes (stories about viruses that don't exist). Passing these on
"to everyone you know" (as some ask you to do) only overload the mail
servers around the world, and can be more damaging than a genuine virus!
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| Easy images
are a click or two away with Irfanview |
- Various image viewers are on computers these days, but one great program
for most people is Irfanview. The latest version is available at
www.irfanview.com
- An extra tip: to capture screen images (web pages, photos, anything that
shows on your computer screen) just get it onscreen, then hit the [Print
Screen] key once, open Irfanview, and click on Edit and Paste. Then save the
image with the filename of your choice. The default format I recommend is .jpg
which is the best compression format for images. (Holding down the [Alt] key
before hitting the [Print Screen] key will copy only the current window.)
- You can also use Irfanview to add text to images, crop, rotate, resize and
other functions.
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| Mailing
Lists and how they work |
- A "mailing list" is a special form of Internet communication.
Generally, mailing lists link a group of people with a common interest.
- Unlike individual email messages, a message to "the list" will be
sent to everyone subscribed to that list. This causes confusion at times for
people who are new to mailing lists, as it can appear that they are receiving
messages that seem to be meant for someone else (or many other people).
- Mailing lists can have options on how a member receives the messages,
depending on how the list is set up, and the software that runs it. These
options can include a "digest" of multiple messages all in one email,
or a web-based "archive" or storage area where the messages can be
read.
- Providers of mailing lists include
Yahoo Groups
- If you have inadvertently gotten subscribed to a mailing list, or just want
off one you're on, you'll generally find instructions on how to unsubscribe
from the list at the bottom of each message.
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Mozilla
Firefox - a good alternative to Internet Explorer
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- A good alternative web browser to Internet Explorer is Mozilla Firefox,
encypted for safe internet banking available from
www.mozilla.com and is not
only safer to use but faster as well.
- Internet Explorer is not safe to use in its standard format - experts
advise either turn off some Internet Explorer features by setting all security
zones to "high" or switch to another browser as the best immediate
fix.
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| Music
Downloads |
- Online music downloads are available in Canada, and a much safer
alternative to file sharing software.
- Apple Computer launched the iTunes Music Store in Canada on Dec 2/04. The
site offers a list of more than 700,000 downloadable songs for 99 cents each,
cheaper than the 99 U.S. cents charged on the company's U.S. site. Music videos
and more than 9,000 audio books are also on sale, and the downloads can be
played on Macs or Windows computers. See all the details at
www.itunes.com
- Call it Canada's answer to Limewire -
www.puretracks.com is
Canada's first digital music download service and launched in October, 2003.
Unlike Limewire, it's not free. But it is legal, and much safer to use.
- We recommend you do NOT use "file sharing" programs on your
computers. Many people don't see anything harmful or wrong with downloading
music from the internet, but the real harm in using programs such as the former
Napster, Kazaa or other similar programs, is that they allow others to access
your computer. We have also seen much damage done to computers with Limewire
(or Azureus, or BitTorrent, etc) loaded, as the computer owner has no idea what
files may be put on the computer without their knowledge or consent. Be safe -
don't let these programs into your computer at all. It's like locking the front
door, but leaving the windows and back door wide open!
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OpenOffice
.org - an MS Office Alternative
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- For those who don't have, or don't want to pay for, Microsoft
Office, there is a very good alternative available
- OpenOffice.org has as its mission statement "To create, as a
community, the leading international office suite that will run on all major
platforms and provide access to all functionality and data...". Created by
Sun Microsystems in collaboration with the community, OpenOffice.org is
free to use, and is being constantly updated by contributors worldwide.
- It provides all the features found in Microsoft Office, with the
abililty to open and save documents in the MS Word, Excel and
Powerpoint formats.
- In addition, it can write PDF (Adobe's Portable Document Format) documents with only a
click or two.
- Download your free copy at
www.openoffice.org
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| Help with
Microsoft Outlook & Outlook Express |
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| Phishing
reminder |
- Please be cautious about clicking on links that are in messages which
appear to be from your Internet Service Provider or bank, saying there
is a problem with your account or your email. Many messages sent
"from" financial institutions are an attempt to get your login
and password. DO NOT click on links in these emails. Instead, type the email
address of your bank's website into your browser. These messages are often
referred to as "phishing".
- A client, an intelligent and aware individual, received an email from
PayPal recently, (a service to safely make payments online), saying there was a
problem with a payment through her account. Unfortunately, she clicked on the
link in the message before contacting us, but got suspicious and got in touch
with us within minutes. On checking the link/webpage address in the browser,
she discovered it was not a legitimate PayPal address. (That would _start_ with
"paypal.com" ... this one was something completely different, with
"paypal" appearing later in the address.) We advised her to close
that window, go to the real PayPal website and change her password immediately,
then contact PayPal through their legitimate website to advise them her account
was at risk, as she'd used her real PayPal login and password to
"login" at the fake website, thereby giving away her information.
- This type of message "from" ISPs, banks, or other
"trusted" institution arrives in our email several times a week.
Being cautious is the best way to protect yourself. If you think the message
might be real, pick up the phone and verify it with your bank, etc. Very few of
these messages are real, and it's better to delete and ignore, and be safe,
rather than sorry.
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| PowerPoint viewer |
- PowerPoint presentations are a popular way to share information, and
especially at the holiday season, people send them by email, without knowing
whether the recipient's computer can open them.
- If your computer isn't equipped with either Microsoft Office or
OpenOffice, just download the free, legal
PowerPoint viewer - we've made it available for you from
our courtesy
download area.
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| Back up your
registry with ERUNT |
- Windows NT4, 2000 (NT5) and XP (NT6) all have a flaw - they do not back up
the registry, and can become corrupted and unable to boot properly
- We recommend the use of ERUNT (Emergency Repair Utility for NT) which is
available from
www.snapfiles.com/get/erunt.html
- Download, install, and run, then reboot your computer - each day you start
it up from then on, a new backup of the registry is made during startup for
your safety. If you need to restore the registry, you can boot into safe mode
and run the tool. Details are available from the author at
www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt/
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| Using Search
Engines Effectively |
- "Search engines" are those websites that allow you to enter text
into a box to search the internet for specific information.
- An excellent search engine is Google, at
www.google.ca, which allows
you to search the whole web, or just Canadian sites.
- To get more meaningful results, enter multiple words to describe your
subject. For example, just entering "storm" will result in thousands
upon thousands of results; entering a string of information such as
"storm+warning+Canada" willl give you much more precise information,
and fewer links to check to find the information you want. By putting the plus
signs in the text instead of spaces, you ensure the results have all those
words, not just one of them.
- If you click the right mouse button on a link, you can open that link in a
new web browser window, and still have the search result page open behind it to
check other resulting links.
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| What to do
about "Spam" (unwanted email) |
- When you receive unwelcome email, we recommend that you delete it. If
you reply, you risk becoming the target of even more. You may be confused
by where the unwanted message appears to originate, as some messages by
spammers are forged to _appear_ as if they came from you or your Internet
Service Provider, but careful inspection reveals another address as the
originating site.
- Using your provider's web email option, which many have these days, allows
you to delete unwanted email before downloading it into your computer.
- "Spamming is the scourge of electronic-mail and newsgroups on the
Internet. It can seriously interfere with the operation of public services, to
say nothing of the effect it may have on any individual's e-mail mail system.
... Spammers are, in effect, taking resources away from users and service
suppliers without compensation and without authorization." -- Vint Cerf,
Senior Vice President, MCI and acknowleged "Father of the Internet"
- Of course a child's account is just as vulnerable to
this sort of attack as an adult's, so work with your children, and be sure you
know what email they are receiving and replying to.
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| Spyware
Dectector |
- Many people don't realize all the extra "stuff" that ends up on
their computers just by visiting websites. In addition to the Temporary
Internet Files (which should be cleaned out regularly), many websites place
"cookies" on the computer, _most_ of which are harmless, and they
also can put "spyware" programs into your computer as well.
- You can remove the Temporary Internet Files in Internet Explorer by going
to "Tools", then "Internet Options", then on "Delete
Files" to clear what is stored already. Then click on the
"Advanced" tab at the top, and scroll down to the
"Security" section at the bottom of the popup window. Click to put a
check mark beside "Empty Temporary Internet Files folder when browser is
closed".
- Beware emails promoting programs that will "clean" your spyware -
these are often programs that remove other companies' spyware, replacing it
with their own!
- We recommend The use of a free spyware detection program "Spybot
Search and Destroy". It not only cleans the "spyware" on
computers, but "immunizes" them against almost 2,000 programs, to
prevent websites from putting their programs on your computers without your
consent. "Spybot" is available at
www.spybot.info - or from
our courtesy download area at
www.computertamers.ca/download
Install the program, be sure to "immunize" the computer, then check
for problems, finally clicking on Fix selected problems. There is a
tutorial available by clicking on Help on the top menu.
- Check for problems weekly by double clicking on the desktop
shortcut, first checking for updates - if found, click to select them all,
download and install. Then to go "Immunize" (click on the green cross
at the top of the Immunize screen), and go to "Search and Destroy" to
check for problems. Then "Fix selected problems" (making sure they
are all selected if not done automatically); then go to "Recovery",
select any/all and click "Purge" to finish cleaning.
- We also recommend the use of AdAware in additon to Spybot for better
protection. It is also free, and available from - but if you only want to use
one program, we recommend Spybot. You can get it from
www.filehippo.com/download_ad-aware
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| Windows
Updates |
- Be sure to check at least monthly for new Windows Updates from
Microsoft, usually on the Tuesdays near the start of the month. These are NEVER
sent by email. If you receive email that says it contains a
patch for Windows, delete it immediately!
- To check for updates, click on Start, (in XP/2000 you must also click on
Control Panel) then on Windows Update. Follow the instructions on
screen to download and install them; it often requires restarting the computer.
- Select "Custom Install" and review the updates before downloading
them, and for now, we are recommending avoiding Internet Explorer 7 if you can.
- Microsoft has now started the release of Windows XP
Service Pack 3 (SP3). We are advising the avoidance of Service Pack 3
(SP3), due to the risk to computers when upgrading. If you have an HP
computer, DO NOT do the SP3 install until HP releases a patch, or your computer
could go into a "blue screen of death" and continual reboot. To
ensure a good install, the registry (the "card catalogue" of Windows)
must be pristine, there can be no spyware on the computer, and no pirate
programs. This is a huge install, requiring many hours to download on dialup.
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