Q: Sometimes I need to move items to the Recycle Bin, but the bin is covered by open windows. I know I can minimize each open window and get to the Recycle Bin that way, but there ought to be an easier way. Am I missing something?
A: The only thing you may be missing is this little slight-of-mouse trick: Instead of closing down open windows to get to your Recycle Bin, just drag the item you want to dispose of to a blank spot on your Taskbar (at the bottom of your screen). Then, holding down your left mouse button, hover on the Taskbar until your cursor turns into one of those "prohibitive" circles with a slash through it. After a second or two, all open windows will minimize automatically letting you drop the item into the now-accessible Recycle Bin. Wake the kids and call the neighbors to show off this trick. It's a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.
Q: Every time I start Windows 98 I get that annoying screen that wants me to provide my username and password. It drives me crazy. Is there any way to prevent that from happening?
A: There are actually a number of different ways to avoid that prompt. Different versions of Windows respond to different methods, but follow these steps for the most universally acceptable fix:
Click My Computer > Control Panel > Passwords. Click the Change Passwords tab, then click the Change Windows Password button.
Make sure all three fields are completely blank and click the OK button to save changes.
If this suggestion doesn't work for you, I've collected lots of other options in an article that you can access in my Web site Library. Click HERE to read the article.
Q: I'm moving to a new house a couple of miles away and wondered if I need to inform my ISP of my new telephone number and whether this move will affect my e-mail address or Internet connection?
A: There is no need to notify your ISP of your new telephone number. As long as you haven't moved into an area where the call to your ISP will be a long-distance call, you'll be able to hook up your computer in your new house and log in, same as you did in the old 'hood. Just be sure to notify your ISP of your new mailing address. You wouldn't want to miss an invoice.
Q: I work at home. On occasion my boss will call and ask, "Did you get the e-mail I sent you three weeks ago about XYZ?" How can I quickly gather together e-mail received from my boss without sorting through all the other e-mail?
A: You didn't mention which e-mail program you're using, but a little Inbox manipulation is all it takes for either Outlook Express or Eudora. In Outlook Express, switch to the "By Sender" view by clicking View > Sort > From. In Eudora, simply click the Who column heading and your e-mail will be instantly sorted alphabetically by sender, making it easy to locate all e-mail received from a given individual.
Just Write Checks
If you would like the convenience of printing checks, but don't want to purchase Quicken or Microsoft Money, take a look. Here you can write professional-looking checks and automatically record them in your online check register -- for free! Simply click on a stored payee and the check is written automatically. You can use the program exclusively for check writing (using Quicken-compatible checks) or you can also keep your checking account balanced by reconciling every month.
ParkingTicket.com
Are pesky parking tickets getting you down? Well, you can be pesk-free with parkingticket.com's guaranteed dismissal or your money back. No, that's not the theme from "The Godfather" you hear playing in the background and nobody is going to sleep with the fishes because of your ticket. This site has assembled a team of experts with more than 60 years of ticket-fightin', loophole-lookin' experience, ready to help you. Your fee is 50% of the parking ticket -- that you won't have to pay. So if the parking ticket would have cost you $50, you pay parkingticket.com $25. Currently available in New York City, Washington (DC), and San Francisco, but coming soon to a red zone near you.
Presidential Greetings
How would you like to open your mailbox and find a greeting card from the President himself? You can do just that if you go to the Presidential Greeting page and let him know about an upcoming milestone event in your life. What sort of event is significant enough to get the President's attention? Well, don't expect to get a personal howdy-do for catching a big fish or a fibbing about a hole-in-one, but do register an upcoming wedding, the birth of a baby, an anniversary (50 years or more), or birthday (80 years or more).
ASCII
Rhymes with PASS-key and should never be pronounced ASK-2 or ASK-Two. If you do ever pronounce it ASK-2 and we ever meet, let's pretend we don't know each other. It will be better that way.
ASCII, for acronym enthusiasts, stands for American Standard Code for Information Interchange. ASCII is the worldwide standard for the code numbers used by computers to represent all the upper and lower case Latin numbers, punctuation, etc. There are 128 standard ASCII codes, each of which can be represented by a seven-digit number, 0000000 through 1111111. (Insert yawn here.)
Subject Line "EOM"
Here's a little-known and even lesser-used e-mail tip: Brief Subject lines on e-mail messages are a must, but if the entire content of your message can fit within the Subject line, why force the recipient to open your message? For example, let's say you've made dinner plans with a friend and you fire off an e-mail to let the person know you'll pick them up at 7 PM.
If you type "Pick you up at 7 PM" in the Subject line, why make your recipient open and read the same message repeated in the body of the e-mail itself? If you have nothing else to say, don't say it. Instead, use the letters "EOM" at the end of the Subject line, so it reads, "Pick you up at 7 PM. (EOM)"
EOM stands for "End of Message" and simply lets the reader know that your entire message is contained in the Subject line. The letters "EOM" can appear in parenthesis, brackets, in quotes, or standing alone.
Efficiency is the key to the effective use of e-mail. All it takes is receiving one e-mail with EOM in the Subject line and you'll be hooked. EOM
Three Ways to Cut, Copy or Paste
To cut, copy or paste data from one location to another, first select the text by highlighting it with your cursor. Then, using your keyboard, press CTRL + X to cut, CTRL + C to copy or CTRL + V to paste.
If you prefer using your mouse, right-click after highlighting the text and select Cut, Copy or Paste from the menu.
Or, if you're a toolbar kind of person, click Edit > Cut, Copy or Paste.
How To Address Email Quickly!
If you're in frequent email communication with somebody, you can avoid the exhausting task of selecting their email address from your address book or laboriously entering it in the To: field by creating a Desktop shortcut instead.
First, right-click on a clear area of your Windows Desktop. Then select New > Shortcut from the menu that appears.
In the Command Line field, type mailto: followed immediately (no spaces in between) by the email address of the person you're frequently emailing. Bonus Tip: Don't forget to include the colon immediately after "mailto".
After entering the email address, click Next, and in the Select A Name For The Shortcut field, type in the person's name, such as Gruff-but-lovable Uncle Rudy.
Click Finish and a new shortcut will appear on your Windows Desktop.
Using Your New Shortcut
The next time you want to email Uncle Rudy, double-click his icon and your email program will open with Uncle Rudy's email address automatically entered in the To: field.
All you have to do next is type in your message, click Send and you're done. And be sure to give Mr. Modem's regards to Uncle Rudy.
"WTC Survivor Virus" Hoax
If you receive the following e-mail, please delete it and do not forward it to others. The "WTC Survivor Virus" is a hoax that began circulating in October of 2001, but with the anniversary of September 11th at hand, it's back in circulation. The body of the e-mail states:
"I just received a couple of emails regarding a "new" virus with the following message in the body of the email:
"Date: Wed, 24 Oct 2002 08:50:15 -0500
Subject: Fwd: FW: Warning- New Virus: "WTC Survivor"
"Dear All,
"BIGGGG TROUBLE !!!! DO NOT OPEN "WTC Survivor"
It is a virus that will erase your whole "C" drive. It will come to you in the form of an E-Mail from a familiar person. I repeat a friend sent it to me, but called and warned me before I opened it.
"He was not so lucky and now he can't even start his computer!
Forward this to everyone in your address book. I would rather receive this 25 times than not at all.
"If you receive an email called "WTC Survivor" do not open it. Delete it right away! This virus removes all dynamic link libraries (.dll files) from your computer.
If you receive this e-mail, remember, it's just a hoax. And if you receive any other email you're not sure about, if you're a subscriber to this newsletter, send me an e-mail and you'll receive a prompt response to your question.
MessageCleaner Software
Excellent for tidying up email and newsgroup messages, stripping all the >>>> forwarding marks, as well as the always-annoying long-line/short-line format. Try it for free for 30 days, then register for $7.50.
If you're looking for a FREE email cleaner-upper, try Mr. Ed's Email Stripper. Not quite as robust as MessageCleaner, but you can't beat the price or the convenience of this Web-based utility. It's one of my favorites!
Theft With a Happy Ending
Last week, a British woman discovered her debit card had been stolen. Fearing the worst, she immediately went on the Internet, checked her account balance and discovered $500 more in her account than she expected. What a deal! It seems that the thief used her card to bet on the horses. When the lucky thief won, his winnings were paid directly into her account. The thief was ultimately apprehended, convicted and placed on probation, but because the $500 was won fairly and squarely, she was permitted to keep the money and presumably live happily ever after.
Inkjets for Indigents
We've all heard the radio ads in which charities ask people to donate their old car, truck or boat. In return, the donor receives a tax write-off and a warm, fuzzy feeling for doing something good. The charity then sells the vehicle and makes some money for its programs.
The international food aid group Food For the Poor is asking companies and individuals to use pre-paid mailers (it supplies) to donate used inkjet cartridges from printers and copy machines. A recycling company then pays a "finder's fee" to the charity. The donation is tax deductible.
Each recycled cartridge can be worth as much as $4. The charity points out that it takes only $2 to buy 20 pounds of rice and beans that can feed as many as 80 children -- or one very large child. For more information about this excellent program, visit the Food for the Poor Web site and click "Recycle for the Poor."
Virus-checking software
As a general proposition, using virus-checking software is an excellent idea and highly recommended. Unfortunately, most computer users install it once, then never update it again. With an estimated 300 new strains of virus arriving on the cyberscene each week, it's important to keep your virus-checking software updated. Visit the Web site of your virus-checking software vendor and download updates as recommended. You may be able to subscribe to a vendor-based service that will notify you when updates become available or will even update your software for you, automatically.
Though there are lots of viruses wafting through cyberspace, if you get in the habit of practicing safe computing, you can easily avoid viral headaches.
W32.Maldal.C@mm
Once again, the Outlook address book is the target of another virus (worm). If executed (launched), this virus will attempt to e-mail itself to everybody in your address book. The delivery mechanism for this one is an e-mail that contains "Happy New Year" in the Subject line. The body of the e-mail says, "Hii, I can't describe my feelings, but all I can say is Happy New Year. Bye." Notice the spelling of "Hii." An attachment named christmas.exe accompanies the e-mail.
If you double-click the christmas.exe file to launch it, the virus will disable your keyboard, change your Internet Explorer home page, delete files of installed anti-virus software, delete the files in your Windows folder and overwrite files with a number of extensions, including .zip, .jpg, .jpeg, .mpg, .mpeg, .doc, .xls, .txt, .ppt, .mp3, and others.
If you receive the "Happy New Year" e-mail, delete it immediately and (all together now!) "Do not open the attachment!" Excellent.
I know I'm the proverbial broken record when it comes to viruses, but you can't be too careful: If you receive an e-mail with an attachment from a person you don't know, do not open it. Instead, delete it. And if you receive an e-mail with an attachment from somebody you do know, but you didn't ask for it and didn't expect it, do not open it. If you're curious, contact the sender and ask for additional information. If it sounds like something you absolutely, positively can't live without seeing, then check it yourself for viruses using an updated and current virus-checking program.
Virus programmers do their best to make their handiwork appear harmless, so don't assume that an e-mail marked "Happy New Year" or "Peace on Earth" or "Oh, Holy Night," is safe. A virus can come from anybody. Even nice people transmit viruses - and many don't even know they're sending them. So don't assume any e-mail you receive from a co-worker, friend, family member or neighbor is safe.
You can't go wrong if you use good, old-fashioned common sense. Be suspicious, be skeptical, and exercise caution. Nobody is immune from computer viruses, but you can do a lot to protect yourself from them.
Follow-up on ZoneAlarm Update
In a previous issue I reported that updates to Version 3.1 of ZoneAlarm were available through the ZoneAlarm Web site. Early feedback was decidedly mixed, with some users reporting program instability and system resource problems as a result of the update installation. I recommended holding off updating ZoneAlarm until the initial update problems were resolved, and I promised that I'd let you know when the coast was clear.
Well, the coast isn't entirely clear, but the fog is beginning to lift. Even though it is possible to install ZoneAlarm 3.1 as an upgrade to an installed version, it is now recommended that you uninstall the old version first, then install Version 3.1. Users report far fewer problems with a clean installation.
Stay tuned for further updates.
Gates' Gaggle is No Giggle
Bill Gates may have created the goose that lays golden eggs with his Microsoft Corp., but everything is far from groovy in Gatesville.
It seems that hundreds of incontinent and demonstratively disrespectful geese are overrunning Bill Gates' high-tech estate on the shores of Lake Washington. It's not the incessant "quack-quack here, and a quack-quack there" that's causing the problems, however. The Seattle Times reports that each goose is capable of downloading up to three pounds of "data" a day, if you get my drift. And therein lies the problem. I guess we can all glean some small measure of comfort knowing there are some things even billions can't resolve.
Holy Soshkele!
Just when you thought you couldn't be any more annoyed by pop-up ads, along comes the next generation of online, in-your-face advertising called Shoshkele (pronounced Shosh-KEY-lee) ads.
A Shoshkele is a cross between a pop-up and an animated ad. According to the inventors, United Virtualities, Shoshkeles are "browser driven, platform agnostic, sound enabled, free moving forms that marry total creative license to a whole new level of effectiveness." Even the definition is annoying.
Shoshkeles appear as animations that overlay a Web page you're trying to read. While they will undoubtedly be viewed as a novelty for at least 15 seconds, they are bound to become increasingly annoying over time. I haven't been able to determine the derivation of the name "Shoshkele," but until I do, every time I hear it I'm just going to say "Geshundeit" to play it safe.
For more information about Shoshkele ads or to view some examples, visit www.unitedvirtualities.com
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