Updated March 12/2010

Page 2

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Index

Access Your Outlook Calendar from the To-Do Bar  April 17/09

Active@ File Recovery Standard  March 13/09

Adjust Privacy Settings In Facebook  March 31/09

Administrator rights  May 13/09

Amazing search engines to try out  March 18/09

An Organized Computer is a Happy One  Nov 25/09

Are you addicted to the internet  May 1/09

Ask Nerd website  June 17/09

Avant Web Browser  Feb 12/10

Avast! Home Edition  March 13/09

Avira Anti-Virus Basics  Sept 1/09

Avoid The Mouse Trap  Feb 23/09

before you open any attachment  March 12/10

Better GCal  March 2/09

(The) Big Fix It  Oct 8/09

Breaking in a new PC  June 24/09

Broadband Trouble  April 29/09

Browser Showdown: IE 8 vs. Firefox  March 27/09

Bug busting: Getting Rid of Spyware  Jan 7/10

Cannot Delete File error. A:  Feb 23/09

Change It All Back  Sept 24/09

Change the Start  May 27/09

Clear your Internet History  April 10/09

Common IM Acronyms  March 20/09

common reasons why a CD burn fails  Feb 27/09

Composing Your Own Ringtones  Aug 16/09

Computer Recycling  April 17/09

computer term acronym  March 16/09

Conficker Again  May 29/09

configure-your-computer-to-backup-to-windows home server  Feb 10/10

Creating Your Very Own Podcast  Feb 27/09

Daemon Tools  Sept 13/09

dangers of sexual text messages  March 20/09

Diagnosing Hard Drive Problems  Jan 14/10

disable-and-remove-suggested-sites-from- Internet Explorer 8  Jan 29/10

Do you have a need for an additional clock on your desktop  April 29/09

Dual boot your pre installed Windows 7 with Vista  Jan 14/10

Eliminating Spyware--What You Need to Know March 2/09

E-mail Spoofing  Aug 16/09

Etiquette Rules for Using IM at Work  March 20/09

Everything Search Engine  May 8/09

Excellent free tools for ebay buyers and sellers  March 13/09

Expert computer tips and tech support  April 17/09

Fences is  organization on your desktop  July 25/09

find out what other sites use mine  Feb 201/0

Fine Tune Your Printing Choices  March 10/10

Firewall Warnings  Oct 8/09

Free CD Ripper  July 17/09

Free Virus Removal Tools, Tips, and Tricks  March 6/09

Frugal laptop  March 11/09

getting-started-with-smplayer-on-windows  Feb 18/10

GlovePIE  May 13/09

Gmail labs features you must enable  April 20/09

Gmail Tips  Aug 16/09

Great Microsoft Web Services You Probably Don't Use  March 11/09

Grunge textures  Aug 16/09

guide to the internet  March 31/09

HandBrake  March 20/09

Handling Your Laptop with Care  Aug 16/09

Hard Drive Maintenance  Nov 12/09

Help Protect Yourself from Online Crime  Jan 7/10

Hidden Drives  Nov 19/09

how-to-add-and-manage-shared-folders-on-Windows home server  March 1/10

How to clean your computer registry  March 16/09

How To Configure Windows For Visually Challenged People  Feb 20/10

How to connect your computer to your TV  April 6/09

How to Disable Autorun  April 10/09

How to know if your computer is infected with a virus  May 19/09

how-to-install-and-setup-windows-home-server  Feb 3/10

How to make Gmail your ultimate productivity center  May 11/09

How To Oversee Your Teens Blog or Social Networking Page  Feb 23/09

How to Prevent the Blue Screen of Death  May 8/09

How to protect your e-mail address book  April 29/09

How to remove a computer virus  April 20/09

how-to-skip-commercials-in-windows-7-media center  March 12/10

How to turn an old computer into an arcade machine  April 6/09

How to upgrade your DVR' s Hard Drive  May 29/09

How to upgrade your PC's RAM  May 29/09

How to use Twitter without Twitter owning you  Feb 27/09

images showing up as a red x  March 31/09

Improve Your Wireless Network  July 17/09

Infectious Macros  Nov 2/09

IObit Security 360  Feb 20/10

Ippon works by listening to unsecured wireless networks  Aug 16/09

Know Your Hardware  May 6/09

Laptop Battery Life Lies  Aug 16/09

learning-windows-7-create-a-homegroup  Jan 29/10

learning-windows-7-desktop-themes-and-ba  Jan 14/10

left-hander mouse  Oct 8/09

List of Defined Basic Computer Terms  Feb 12/10

lock Your desktop  May 1/09

Lost Documents  Nov 6/09

Make the Most of Your Wireless Router  Nov 2/09

Malware Threat Center  July 25/09

Manage Your Media With Free Tools  March 20/09

Mouse ClickLock  May 25/09

Neeris worm  April 10/09

Net Commandments  May 22/09

New Mac minis: Beware small gains at big price  March 9/09

New Twist on an Old Threat  Oct 21/09

No virus thanks  Oct 8/09

Old Version  Feb 8/10

Organizing Your IE 7 Favorites  March 16/09

our-look-at-opera-10.50-web-browser  March 12/10

Preventing data theft with USB devices  Sept 30/09

Protect Your Computer  June 17/09

Protect Yourself From Phishing Scams  March 16/09

Reasons Why You Should Pay Attention to Cloud Computing  March 27/09

Reasons You Should Join a Social Network  March 31/09

Recommended Ages for Computer and Online Time  Feb 23/09

Recover Space in Windows by Deleting Old System Restore Files  Sept 13/09

Recuva will find worms  March 13/09

registering software-is it important  Sept 13/09

Rules to IM  March 20/09

Save Those Pictures   August 16/09

Save your eyes Save  your PC  March 16/09

Scan and Fix Windows Systems Files on Your Hard Drive  Feb 27/09

Screen Capture with Jing  March 13/09

Set Program Access and Defaults  May 8/09

Shaping Up  March 16/09

share-access-data-with-excel-in-office-2010  Feb 1/10

Signs of Malware  Sept 8/09

site devoted to Nature Photography  Sept 28/09

Slide Share  July 17/09

Smile!  Nov 25/09

Social Wallpapering - a website  March 2/09

Sort Outlook E-mails with SenderOK Plug-In  April 10/09

Speed Up Your Computer  Feb 27/09

SpywareBlaster  April 29/09

SUPERAntiSpyware Free Edition  March 13/09

sync-files-between-computers-and-mobile-devices  Feb 18/10

take control of your inbox  August 16/09

The Term-inator  July 10/09

Time to Start Over  Feb 8/10

Tips By Number  Feb 27/09

Tips for Wireless Home Network Security  Feb 27/09

Top 12 Tabbed Browsing Add-Ons  March 13/09

Totally looks like...website  July 10/09

turn-your-windows-7-laptop-into-a-wifi  Feb 8/10

Understanding Spyware, Browser Hijackers, and Dialers  March 2/09

Uninstalling Programs From a Windows Computer  Feb 27/09

Unlocking the iphone potential  April 20/09

Use Gmail as an extra drive March 3/10

use-remote-desktop-to-access-other-computers on small office or Home network  Jan 22/10

Vista Energy Saving Features  July 17/08

Wallpaper: Calendars  June 24/09

Ways To Hide Your Online Identity  March 13/09

What is a Keylogger Trojan  March 13/09

What is an Email Spoof  March 20/09

What is Gmail  March 6/09

What is So Great About Gmail  March 6/09'

What's Microsoft Silverlight  March 1/10

What's the Difference Between Flash and Shockwave  Feb 20/10

What’s the difference between Wordpad and Notepad  Feb 8/10

What You Need To Know Before Replacing Your Printer Ink  April 29/09

Will google destroy microsoft  March 16/09

Windows 7 Touch Pack  Feb 20/10

Windows 7 Performance Tweaks  Feb 8/10

Wireless Security: Hacked  Oct 21/09

WizMouse  May 13/09

Worst computer viruses of all times  May 19/09

YouTube Downloader  March 20/09

Xcalday  Nov 16/09

Xp and Vista Clock Trick  March 27/09

ZillaDog-a safe website for kids  July 10/09

before you open any attachment, make sure you know who sent it. Even if you do know the sender, if you aren't expecting it, you might want to send a quick note to your friend and make sure they really sent it—especially .pps files since they can contain viruses. Also, do not open any attachments with .exe , .scr or .pif file extensions.

Nothing worse than getting a file from a friend and you don't have the right program to open it. Here are some common file extensions and the programs needed to open:

.doc - Microsoft Word
.pps - MS PowerPoint
.xls - MS Excel worksheet
.wpd - Corel WordPerfect
.pdf - Adobe Acrobat
.jpg - JPEG graphic file
.zip - Zip (compressed) file
.sit - Stuffit (compressed) file
.scr - Windows Screen Saver (DO NOT OPEN)
.pif - Program Information File (DO NOT OPEN)

The good news is that most software developers offer freeware viewers that will allow you to see, but not alter, content.

.doc - Microsoft Word Viewer

.pps - PowerPoint Viewer

.xls - Excel Spreadsheet Viewer

.wpd - Wordperfect
Corel no longer offers a viewer, but there is a third-party application called "Lightning" that includes a Wordperfect viewer.

.pdf - Acrobat Reader

.jpg - You can view these in your web browser or most imaging software.

.scr - USE CAUTION if you receive a screen saver via email. They can contain worms or viruses.

.pif - DO NOT OPEN! This is most likely a virus. Clicking it will run a program or code that can mess up your computer.

As for compressed files (.zip & .sit), I recommend 7 Zip, because it's free.

There are also freeware/shareware programs for opening .zip files such as WinZip . In addition, with Windows XP you can save any zipped file to your desktop or a folder and access the files without unzipping (just click it like any other folder—drag items out to run them).

So, next time you get an attached file in your email but don't have the program to open it, just grab a viewer.

~David

How To Skip Commercials in Windows 7 Media Center

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If you use Windows 7 Media Center to record live TV, you’re probably interested in skipping through commercials. After all, a big reason to record programs is to avoid commercials, right? Today we focus on a fairly simple and free way to get you skipping commercials in no time.

In Windows 7, the .wtv file format has replaced the dvr-ms file format used in previous versions of Media Center for Recorded TV. The .wtv file format, however, does not work very well with commercial skipping applications. 

The Process

Our first step will be to convert the recorded .wtv files to the previously used dvr-ms file format. This conversion will be done automatically by WtvWatcher. It’s important to note that this process deletes the original .wtv file after successfully converting to .dvr-ms. Next, we will useDVRMSToolBox with the DTB Addin to handle commercials skipping. This process does not “cut” or remove the commercials from the file. It merely skips the commercials during playback.

WtvWatcher

Download and install the WTVWatcher (link below). To install WtvWatcher, you’ll need to have Windows Installer 3.1 and .NET Framework 3.5 SP1.

If you get the Publisher cannot be verified warning you can go ahead and click Install. We’ve completely tested this app and it contains no malware and runs successfully.

After installing, the WtvWatcher will pop up in the lower right corner of your screen.

You will need to set the path to your Recorded TV directory. Click on the button for "Click here to set your recorded TV path..."

The WtvWatcher Preferences window will open…

…and you'll be prompted to browse for your Recorded TV folder. If you did not change the default location at setup, it will be found at C:\Users\Public\Recorded TV. Click “OK” when finished.

Click the "X" to close the Preferences screen.

You should now see WtvWatcher begin to convert any existing WTV files.

The process should only take a few minutes per file. Note: If WtvWatcher detects an error during the conversion process, it will not delete the original WTV file. 

You will probably want to run WtvWatcher on startup. This will allow WtvWatcher too constantly scan for new .wtv files to convert. There is no setting in the application to run on startup, so you’ll need to copy the WTV icon from your desktop into your Windows start menu “Startup” directory. To do so, click on Start > All Programs, right-click on Startup and click on Open all users.

Drag and drop, or cut and paste, the WtvWatcher desktop shortcut into the Startup folder.

DVRMSToolBox and DTBAddIn

Next, we need to download and install theDVRMSToolBox and the DTBAddIn. These two pieces of software will do the actual commercial skipping. After downloading the DVRMSToolBox zip file, extract it and double-click the setup.exe file.  Click “Next” to begin the installation.

Unless DVRMSToolBox will only be used by Administrator accounts, check the “Modify File Permissions” box. Click “Next.”

When you get to the Optional Components window, uncheck Download/Install ShowAnalyzer. We will not be using that application.

When the installation is complete, click "Close."

Next we need to install the DTBAddin. Unzip the download folder and run the appropriate .msi file for your system. It is available in 32 & 64 bit versions.

Just double click on the file and take the default options. Click "Finish” when the install is completed. You will then be prompted to restart your computer.

After your computer has restarted, open DVRMSToolBox settings by going to Start > All Programs, DVRMSToolBox, and click on DVRMStoMPEGSettings.

On the MC Addin tab, make sure that Skip Commercials is checked. It should be by default.

On the Commercial Skip tab, make sure the Auto Skip option is selected. Click "Save."

If you try to watch recorded TV before the file conversion and commercial indexing process is complete you’ll get the following message pop up in Media Center. If you click Yes, it will start indexing the commercials if WtvWatcher has already converted it to dvr-ms.

Now you’re ready to kick back and watch your recorded tv without having to wait through those long commercial breaks.

Conclusion

The DVRMSToolBox is a powerful and complex application with a multitude of features and utilities. We’ve showed you a quick and easy way to get your Windows Media Center setup to skip commercials. This setup, like virtually all commercial skipping setups, is not perfect. You will occasionally find a commercial that doesn’t get skipped.

Need help getting your Windows 7 PC configured for TV? Check out our previous tutorial on setting up live TV in Windows Media Center.

Links

Download WTV Watcher

Download DVRMSToolBox

Download DTBAddin

Our Look at Opera 10.50 Web Browser

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Everyone has been talking about the newest version of Opera recently but perhaps you have not looked at it too closely yet. Today we will take a look at 10.50 and let you see what this “new browser” is all about. The New Engines

• Carakan JavaScript Engine: Runs web applications up to 7 times faster than its predecessor Futhark
• Vega Graphics Library: Enables super fast and smooth graphics on everything from tab switching to webpage animation
• Presto 2.5: Provides support for HTML5, CSS2.1 and the latest CSS3 standards

A Look at the Features Available If you have installed or used older versions of Opera before then the default look after a clean install will probably seem rather different. The main differences in appearance are mainly located within the “glass border” areas of the browser. The “Speed Dial” setup looks and works just as well as in previous versions. You can set a favorite wallpaper or image as your background and choose the number of “dials” using the “Configure Speed Dial Command”. One of the “standout” differences is the “O Button”. All of the menus have been condensed into this single access point but it only takes a few moments to find what you are looking for. If you have used the style before in earlier versions of Opera some of the items have been moved around. For those who prefer the “Menu Bar” that can be easily restored using the “Show Menu Bar Command”. If desired you can actually “extend” the “Tab Bar” downwards to display thumbnails of your open tabs. Just use your mouse to grab the bottom of the “Tab Bar” and adjust it to suit your personal needs. The only problem with this feature is that it will quickly use up a good sized portion of your available UI and browser window space. The “Password Manager” is ready to access when needed…the background for the button will turn a shiny metallic blue when you open a webpage that you have “Login Information” saved for. One of the new features is a small “Recycle Bin Button” in the upper right corner. Clicking on this will display a list of recently closed tabs letting you have easy access to any tabs that you may have accidentally closed. This is definitely a great feature to have as an easy access button. For those who were used to how the “Zoom Feature” looked before it has a new “look” to it. Instead of the pop-up menu-type listing of “view sizes” present before you now have a slider button that you can use to adjust the zooming level. For our default setup here the “Sidebar Panels” available were: “Bookmarks, Widgets, Unite, Notes, Downloads, History, & Panels”. Additional panels such as “Links, Windows, Search, Info, etc.” are available if you want and/or need them (accessible using the “Panels Plus Sign Button”). The “Opera Link Button” makes it easy for you to synchronize your “Speed Dial, Bookmarks, Personal Bar, Custom Searches, History & Notes”. Note: “Opera Link” requires an account and can be signed up for using the link provided below. Want to share files with your family and friends? “Unite” allows you to do that and more. With "Unite" you can: "Stream Music, Show Photo Galleries, Share Files and/or Folders, & host webpages directly from your browser". We have a more in-depth look at “Unite” in our article here. Note: Use of “Unite” requires an Opera account. Got a slow internet connection? “Opera Turbo” can help with that by running the web traffic through their “compression servers” to speed up your web browsing. Keep in mind that “Opera Turbo” will not engage if you are accessing a secure website (i.e. your bank’s website) thus preserving your security. Note: “Opera Turbo” can be set up to automatically detect slow internet connections (i.e. crowded Wi-Fi in a cafe). Opera has a built-in “Private Browsing Mode” now for those who prefer anonymous browsing and want to keep the “history records clean” on their computer. To access it go to “Tabs and windows” and select “New private tab” or “New private window” as desired. When you open your new “Private Tab or Window” you will see the following message with details on how Opera will handle browsing information and a large “door hanger symbol”. Notice that the one tab is locked into “Private Browsing Mode” while the others are still working in “Regular Browsing Mode”. Very nice! A miniature version of the “door hanger symbol” will be present on any tab that is locked into “Private Browsing Mode”. If you are using Windows 7 then you will love how things look from your “Taskbar”. Here you can see four very nice looking thumbnails for the tabs that we had open. All that you have to do is click on the desired thumbnail… The “Context Menu” looks just as lovely as the thumbnails and definitely has some terrific functionality built into it. Add Enhanced Aero Capability If you love “Aero” and want more for your new Opera install then we have the perfect theme for you. The theme’s name is Z1-AV69 and once you have downloaded it you will need to place it in the “Skins Subfolder” in Opera’s “Program Files Folder”. Note: For our example we used version 1.10 but version 2.00 is now available (link provided below). Once you have restarted Opera, go to the “O Menu” and select “Appearance”. When the “Appearance Window” opens click on “Z1-Glass Skin” and then click “OK”. All of a sudden you will have more “Aero Goodness” to enjoy. Compare this screenshot with the one at the top of this article…the only part that is not transparent now is the browser window area itself. Want even more “Aero Goodness”? Right click on the “Tab Bar” and set “Tab Bar Placement” to “Left”. Note: You can achieve the same effect by setting the “Tab Bar Placement” to “Right”. With the “Speed Dial” visible you will be able to see your wallpaper with ease. While this is obviously not for everyone it does make for a great visual trick. Portable Versions Perhaps you need this wonderful new version of Opera to go with you wherever you do during the day. Not a problem…just visit the Opera USB website to choose a version that works best for you. You can select from “Zip or Exe” setup files and if needed update an older portable version using a “Zipped Update Files Package”. If you are updating an older version keep in mind that you will need to delete the old “OperaUSB.exe. File” due to changes with the new setup files. During our tests updating older portable versions went well for the most part but we did experience a few “odd UI quirks” here and there…so we recommend setting up a clean install if possible. Conclusion The new 10.50 release is a pleasure to use and is a recommended install for your system. Whether you are considering trying Opera for the first time or have been using it for a bit we think that you will pleased with everything that the 10.50 release has to offer. For those who would like to add User Scripts to Opera be certain to look at our how-to article here. LinksDownload Opera 10.50 for your location (Windows)Get the latest Snapshot versions for Linux & MacSign up for an Opera Link accountView In-Depth detail on Opera 10.50's featuresDownload the Z1-AV69 Aero ThemeDownload Portable Opera 10.50

Fine Tune Your Printing Choices

So, you're in need of a hard copy from an MS Word file, but you don't need the entire file.

Maybe you just need a page or maybe even just a section or two.

If that is all you need, why are you printing the entire document?

Good question and unfortunately, there's no good answer.

So, let's explore a few ways you can get Word to print only what you need.

To begin, you'll need to go to the Print dialog box (File menu / Office Button, Print choice or Ctrl + P).



In the Page Range section, you'll find a few choices.

By default, the All choice will be selected, but you could change it to Current page, which will print only the page where the cursor is currently located. You also could choose the Selection option, which prints whatever text was highlighted before you went to the Print window.

Below that, you'll find the Pages option. This is where all the printing flexibility comes in.

In this field, you can enter a combination of information to get Word to print exactly what you want, with nothing more and nothing less.

To print whole pages, you can request them by page number.

2 will print only page two of the document.

2, 5 will print only pages two and five of the document.

3-8 will print only pages three through eight of the document.

3, 4-7 will print only pages three and four through seven.

Okay, so you get the idea with whole pages, but here's a quick bonus.

By entering page numbers in reverse order, such as 7-2, you will get Word to print them in reverse order.

Why reverse order?

Well, if Word prints the last page first, it will be at the bottom of the pile when you take the stack off the printer. That means no more shuffling pages to get them into the correct order!

(You could also set the reverse order option through your Printer's Properties window).

Now, moving on to printing sections. (To do this, you have to work with a document that's been broken into sections by inserting section breaks).

To denote the printing of just a section, use the letter "s," followed by the section number.

For example, if you wanted to print section two of the document, you would enter "s2" in the Pages field.

You can use the comma to separate non-consecutive sections and the hyphen to print a range of sections.

Need to mix the page numbers with the sections?

No problem!

Use the letter "p," followed by the page number and then "s," followed by the section number.

For example, "p2s3" means print page two in section three.

This too can be combined with the comma and hyphen to print both consecutive and non-consecutive parts of the document.

Now, go on and get creative and take control of your printed pages!

~April

Now you're a print professional! rate or add to this tip here!

**************************

Use Gmail as an extra drive

Ever needed some online space to store files before sending them as email attachments? Maybe you need a way to store your presentations, pictures, documents or even your video collection online?

Online storage services require that you subscribe to a data plan. In addition, they don’t offer a secure connection or a decent amount of storage space unless you pay a monthly fee.

If you already use Gmail, you know it’s one of the best email service providers in the world. Gmail offers powerful spam protection, enhanced security and more than 7 GB (and growing) of free online storage space for emails.

However, emails require only a small amount of space for storage, leaving the rest of the space unused. So, why not use Gmail’s free space to store other files besides emails?

Gmail Drive is a free shell extension that allows you to do just that. Gmail Drive creates a new system partition in My Computer and integrates the space offered by Google into Windows Explorer. It allows you to use the online space as if it were just another hard drive attached to your computer. You can transfer files by drag & drop or copy/paste from your PC directly into your Gmail Inbox. And, it works with any version of Windows!

As great as Gmail Drive is, it does have some limitations. Gmail itself imposes most of these limitations.

Gmail has a limit of 25 MB per file. To counteract this, Gmail Drive will automatically split bigger files into smaller pieces.

While normal Windows operations such as creating new folders and copy/paste work well, Gmail Drive does not assign an actual drive letter (such as C :) to the drive it creates in My Computer. This prevents its use by some older Windows applications and all DOS programs.

In addition, because of limitations inside Gmail, file names are limited to 40 characters.

The first step towards enjoying your new storage space is to have a Gmail account. To sign up for a Gmail account, visit https://www.google.com and click on Gmail above the Google search bar.

Then, click on Create an account, and fill in the form with your information.

If you already have a Gmail account, you can skip this step.

The next step is to install Gmail Drive.



Begin by pointing your browser to http://www.viksoe.dk/code/gmail.htm, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on one of the two download links. Then save the file to your desktop for easy access.



Next, open gmailfs115.zip with your favorite file archiver (I recommend 7-zip since it’s free) or right-click the file and choose “Extract All” from the menu.

After you’ve unpacked the zip file, go to the gmailfs115 folder and double-click Setup.exe.

If you get an Open File – Security Warning, click on Run to give Windows permission to start the installation.

After the installation program finishes making changes to your computer, close the help window.

If you go to My Computer ("Computer" for Windows Vista and 7) you will see a new drive in the Other category.



Double-click the GMail Drive to open the login window. Then, in the Username field input your Gmail id (ex: johndoe21) and in the password field input the password you chose for your Gmail account.

Check the Auto Login box to make sure that next time you double-click the drive you’ll be logged in automatically.

Before you click OK to connect to Gmail, click the More button to reveal some advanced options.

First, make sure the “Preserve Filenames” option is checked.

Second and this is very important, check the Use Secure HTTP option. This will make the connection between your computer and Gmail secure.

Lastly, check the Use Draft Folder option. This will send files to your draft folder instead of cluttering your inbox.

The other option, Use Proxy Authentication is only useful if you connect to the internet using a proxy server.

Now that you’ve checked all the important options, click OK to connect to Gmail.



Then you can drag & drop or copy/paste any files to Gmail Drive, and it will send them as email attachments to your Gmail Drafts folder.



The speed at which you can copy files to and from Gmail Drive will depend on the speed of your internet connection.

~Cosmin Ursachi

How to Add and Manage Shared Folders on Windows Home Server

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Windows Home Server comes with some shared folders in different categories by default, and chances are you’ll want to create your own as well. Today we show you how to create your own shared folders, manage permissions, enable folder duplication, and more.

Note: For this article we’re accessing the Home Server Shared Folders from Windows 7.

Default Shared Folders

After installing Windows Home Server you’ll notice that the default shared folders are Music, Photos, Public, Recorded TV, Software, and Videos. These folders cannot be deleted, but we can create our own folders if needed. We can also go through and change permissions and view folder histories.

Accessing Shared Folders

You can access your shared folders on the server a few different ways. One is to double-click the Shared Folders on Server icon that was created on the Desktop when you installed WHS Console.

Or right-click on the WHS Console icon in the tray and select Shared Folders.

Open WHS Console and under Shared Folders right-click and Open the folder you want.

You can also go into Network and double-click on the Home Server icon…

Which ever method you use, it’ll open the Shared Folders directory and you can begin browsing through your data.

Add New Folder

Adding a new folder is pretty straight-forward. Open Windows Home Server Console and under Shared Folders click Add from the toolbar or right-click an empty area in Shared Folders and select Add from the context menu.

Either way it will pop up the Add a Shared Folder wizard where you type in the name for the folder and give it a description if you want to. You’ll need to decide if you want to enable folder duplication or not. With it enabled, it duplicates the folder and files contained in it across multiple drives on the server. It will take twice as much space on the total storage of your server and can take a while for the process to complete. In this example…these files are going to be large video files, and we don’t need to create a duplicate. 

Next we need to select the type of access each user will have for the new folder. The types of access are as follows…

• Full – The user can view, add,.modify, and delete files in the shared folder.
• Read – The user can view files in the shared folder, but cannot add, modify, or delete files.
• None – The user can’t view, modify, or delete anything in the shared folder…they have no access.

The folder has been successfully created and you can close out of the wizard and start adding files.

Now in Windows Home Server Console we can see the created folder named DVD Movies. We also see the Description, it’s currently empty, Duplication is off, and a status of Healthy.

Delete a Shared Folder

If you ever find that you need to delete a shared folder you created, right-click the folder and select Remove from the menu.

Then click finish on the warning message if you’re sure you want to delete it. Remember that if a folder is duplicated, that will be deleted as well. Also you can’t delete the folders that were included by default by WHS.

Change Folder Properties

We can also go back and change the properties and user access to the folders at any time. In this example we created a Documents shared folder and want to enable Folder Duplication and change user access. Just right-click the folder and select Properties.

The Properties window appears and under the General tab we want to mark the box next to Enable Folder Duplication. You need at least 2 drives on your server to enable folder duplication. What it does is automatically duplicate the folder and its contents over to another drive. It also syncs the folder with the duplicate. So for example if you take a file out of the folder, that is updated in the duplicate as well.

This is very handy incase one of the server drives fail, you’ll still have access to the folder contents. Remember that duplication takes twice the amount of space of total storage space. You might want to use this feature for your most important files and documents.

Click on the User Access tab to change the type of access each user has to the folder.

You’ll get a message reminding you that the new permissions won’t go into effect until the user logs off then back on to the machine.

If a user tries to access a file that you haven’t assigned rights to, they’ll get a File Access Denied error message.

You can also check out folder history and see how it has grown over time. Right-click a particular and select History…which brings up a screen showing what’s been going on. You can choose to display week, month, year, or a full history.

If you try to view the history of a folder that hasn’t had enough time to accumulate any, you’ll get the following error. A folder needs to be in operation for a minimum of one week.

Conclusion

Windows Home Server is an excellent way to centralize all of your data, and access it from different machines throughout the house or small office. Managing the shared folders on the server will be one of the main administrative functions you’ll need to do. You’ll be able to administer user account access to the folders on the network and over the web. The Folder Duplication feature is a great way to ensure there is redundant backup of your most important files.

This guide should help get you started with using and understanding shared folders on your home server. You might want to also check out our articles on how to manage user accounts in WHS, and how to backup WHS folders to an external drive.

What is Microsoft Silverlight?

A:
Good question! Silverlight, as described by Microsoft, is: “...a cross-browser, cross-platform plug-in for delivering the next generation of .NET based media experiences and rich interactive applications for the Web. Silverlight offers a flexible programming model that supports AJAX, VB, C#, Python, and Ruby, and integrates with existing Web applications....”

That, however, makes absolutely no sense to me, so let's just simplify it by saying that MS Silverlight is basically like Microsoft's version of Adobe Flash. It was originally developed as a means to deliver presentation-like material quickly and efficiently to your web browser.

Obviously things have advanced from just presentations, because now there are games, applications and productivity software that use Silverlight as their foundation.
Below is an example of a flight simulator that uses maps provided by Bing.com.



If you're curious, head over to http://silverlight.net/ and check the “Community” section for examples of all the neat things that can be done. I've been cruising around there for about half an hour and still haven't scratched the surface of everything Silverlight can do.

~Andrew

What's the Difference Between Flash and Shockwave?

A:
Flash and Shockwave allow Web sites to deliver the most engaging, compelling and interesting entertainment content on the Web. There are certain Web sites that require either Shockwave or Flash to be installed in order to view their content. For example, many online gambling sites require Shockwave to be able to play free slot games, etc.

As you may be too, I have always been confused about the difference between Flash and Shockwave. I mean, they both:

1.) Are technologies developed by Adobe Systems, formerly Macromedia Inc..

2.) Are plug-ins for Web browsers.

3.) Make use of ActiveX in Web browsers.

4.) Enable Web pages to include multimedia objects, such as graphics, video and animations.

However, when I thoroughly researched both of them, I found quite a few differences. Most of them are minor, but I never knew about them, so I figured we could sort them out together. Let's go!

Adobe Flash

1.) Adobe Flash is widely spread, as many Web sites require Flash to be pre-installed. It allows designers to combine text, graphics, video and sound to create dynamic and immersive applications in a variety of fields, including interactive Web content and games.

2.) Flash loads comparatively faster than Shockwave.

3.) Flash allows designers and developers to integrate video, text, audio and graphics into their interactive presentations.

4.) Flash is also much cheaper than Shockwave, as it costs approximately $400.

5.) Flash works in the .SWF Flash format and it is part of the "SIMPLE" Scripting Level.

Adobe Shockwave

1.) Adobe claims that over 200 million Web users have installed the Shockwave player. Some of the features supported by Shockwave are 3D games, product demos and online learning applications.

2.) Shockwave is mostly used for online games and areas that require programming (as opposed to simple video clips or animations). It has the ability to move objects around as well.

3.) Shockwave has a special built in feature where it can integrate Flash into its own format (Flash cannot do that with Shockwave).

4.) Shockwave can only be created using the Adobe Director and it is part of the Advanced Scripting Language. Shockwave requires technical expertise as well.

5.) Shockwave is much more expensive than Flash, as it costs more than $1,000.

6.) Shockwave works in the .DCR Shockwave format, which is one that is much harder to decode/modify.

There you have it! Now you know all there is to know about Flash and Shockwave. Don't you feel special?!

~Chetan P.

And now you know! Don't forget to rate or add to this tip here!

How To Configure Windows For Visually Challenged People

This article is a guide on how to configure windows for visually challenged people (henceforth referred to in this article as VC). It describes a bunch of small changes/tweaks you can make to Windows in order to make it much more usable and simplify everyday tasks for those with a visual impairment.

Note: Some of these tweaks require editing the Windows registry. If you are unsure of your ability to do this, please consult a professional.

Logon & Logoff Wallpapers
The default wallpapers which come with Windows XP/Vista for the logon and logoff screens usually have light bright backgrounds. This makes the mouse pointer hard to see and makes it difficult for the VC to click on the user icon and logon.



It is recommended that presentations etc. normally be prepared on a dark blue background as it is considered ideal for reading (by the elderly). So switching to a dark blue background may make it easiest for identifying a “White Mouse Pointer”

For Windows XP Users
1) Goto Start>Run and open the registry editor by typing “Regedit”
2) Navigate to the following key in the registry: HKEY USERS\ .DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop
3) Double-click the wallpaper value, and enter the path where you image file is located
4) For Tiling the image, Set "TileWallPaper" to 1
5) For Stretching the image, Set "WallPaperStyle" to 2
6) Close the registry editor and restart the computer

For Windows Vista Users
The simple registry edit which is explained above has been removed in Vista. The same effect can be performed by editing the registry, but the method is very complicated and if improperly done, can result in causing damage to the operating systems files. An easier approach is to use a third party software such as “Logon Studio” by Stardock

Text to Speech Readers
Using Text to Speech readers may help the VC with reading mail/documents/e-books etc. Windows Vista has a Text to Speech reader software built in just for this. Also, many freeware and paid software are available which have text to speech capabilities. Microsoft Narrator can be used by navigating to Start>All Programs>Accessories>Ease of Access>Narrator.

Speech to Text Converters
Speech to Text converters have been around for a while and one of the most popular ones is the Dragon Naturally Speaking series. This can help the VC compose mails and prepare documents, especially if they have trouble identifying individual keys on a keyboard.

Screen Resolution
Using the resolution with the biggest texts and fonts as per the Monitor’s Display capabilities will go a long way towards making it easier for the VC to use the computer. The ideal resolution will vary from person to person depending upon the degree of vision impairment and can be identified via repeated trials (Recommended: 640X480 or 800X600)



Modified File Icons
Ensuring that each icon is individualistic in nature in terms of color/design can again help them differentiate between files easily.



Magnifier
Windows Vista comes with a host of accessibility features which sometimes tend to go unused. One of the tricks to make the computer more user-friendly for the VC is to always run the magnifier on the screen at the very top or bottom. This way, they can move the mouse pointer around and use the magnified image to help them navigate and click on files.




Creating a Special User Profile
Creating a separate user profile on Windows, with their resolution, suitable backgrounds and modified logoff and logon screens will increase their usability. Adding programs such as Magnifier, Text Readers and Speech Converters to the Start-up list will further increase their accessibility.

~Deepak Kannan

IObit Security 360

The IObit Security 360 program is a PC diagnostic tool, which features anti-malware and Spyware removal which will ensure your system's safety over the net. The application has a real-time protection status which remains active as you do computing tasks or surf the internet.

After installing the tool on your computer and accessing its main panel, you will see some large icons which are easily accessible. The update status of your program is easy to spot, too, and if the definitions are out of date, you'll find that downloading the latest patches is as easy as a single click.



The next step is to scan your whole system using one of the three options: Smart, Full and Custom, which can be reached by clicking on the second icon from the top left side of the interface. If you are not in a hurry and have a fairly beefy machine, the Full scan is definitely recommended as it will search deeper for more hidden files.



The real-time protection level of the IObit software is indeed an innovative feature. It is highly recommended to keep it on all the time as it will neutralize all the possible threats before they can invade your system. You can disable real-time protection, too, under the options menu



By pressing the Settings icon on the top of the program interface, the Options panel will load, which contains lots of additional features and choices. On the General Setting tab page, you can toggle IObit to load at the Windows Startup, which is a good idea, and you can also go set it to minimize when the program is closed.



Click the Protection slider to find out how you can configure the system monitoring settings. By choosing the High Level option, more dangerous threats would be discovered and eradicated.



By pressing the Check Now option in the PC Security Analysis section of the main Overview panel, possible security loopholes of your system will be diagnosed. You can use Show Details to take some actions like updating your Windows system or deleting the junk data on your PC.



To download the latest version of the IObit Security 360 software, simply visit the link below: http://download.cnet.com/IObit-Security-360/3000-8022_4-10967594.html

~Hamid Reza

Q:
I have my own personal Web site and I was wondering if there was any way I could find out what other sites use mine as a reference or any that just mention my site. How can I do this?

A:
Often times, other Web site administrators will come across yours and see something on there that they would like to include on their site. For example, this happens a lot with WorldStart's wallpaper. We get e-mails every day from people asking if they can include the wallpaper on their Web site. Fortunately, we are very open to letting other people use our material, as long as they give us proper credit. So, if you have a business Web site and you have a daily business tip (or something similar), other people may be interested in using that on their site as well. (As long as proper credit is given!)

This type of thing is very common. Most people seem to like it, because it gives their site more recognition and it helps get the word out to more places. On the other hand, some of you may not like your material being used on other sites. That is, of course, perfectly fine, because it is your Web site, you own it, you run it and you can do what you want with it.

Either way, this next little trick that I'm going to share with you will help you see which Web sites have links to yours, which in turn, anyone can see. If you like the recognition, you can always go and check to make sure the site is giving you credit and if you don't like the situation, you can always go to the site and look up the administrator's contact information so you can e-mail them and ask them to remove your material from their site. They have to comply with you, because it's your property! But all in all, you can see this tip is good for either side of the track.

Okay, so here's the trick. This is for the Google search engine only. Go to Google's homepage and in the search box, you're going to type a simple line: link:yoursite.com. When done, just click on Search.

You will (of course) change the "yoursite" to your Web site's address. For instance, I wanted to check out how many sites have WorldStart's information linked, so I went to Google and typed in link:worldstart.com. Several entries came up, which didn't surprise me, but it was cool to see all of them. I also tried doing one for MySpace, so I typed in link:myspace.com and even more came up on this one.



Go ahead and give it a try for your Web site!

~Erin

Windows 7 Touch Pack

Windows 7 Touch Pack is a set of 6 multi-touch applications that are available with Windows 7. It is comprised of 3 games and 3 Microsoft Surface applications. These applications are made for the Windows 7 OS by the Microsoft Surface team and are created especially for touch-enabled monitors and computers. These applications literally put the entire world at your finger-tips, enable you to create well designed and memorable desktop images and even play with fish and water in a memorable screen saver.

We shall explore these neat applications here in this article:

1.Microsoft Surface Globe:


Globe offers a hands-on experience in world-exploration based on Microsoft Bing Maps content and Technology. The earth is seen as a 2D Map or as an immersive 3-D experience. You can have both road and satellite view of locations, as well as have the ability to identify the road map to any particular location. You also have a search field by which you an identify postal code, address, landmark or any geographic location like a city name or mountain range.

2.Microsoft Surface Collage:


This application enables you to enlarge your own photos and save the result as an impressive desktop background. You can customize your collage by using the options button to pick a color, choose a background style and also apply a photo border style. You can open specific pictures using a natural touch gesture to browse your pictures and videos, explore them and share your content.

3.Microsoft Surface Lagoon:
This application is both a screen-saver and an interactive water simulation with a meditative rock arrangement and playful, albeit shy, fish. You can touch with one or more fingers to play with the water and make the fish swim away. When you touch and hold on the water the fish gets attracted in the direction, too. You can change the number of fishes from 0 to 20, adjust the sound volume and use your own photo as the water background.

4.Microsoft Blackboard


This is Solve a puzzle game of physics where you can, create a nifty machine on a virtual blackboard. You can use gestures to rotate and resize gears, fans, seesaws, and more to move balloons and balls toward the light bulbs and to victory.

5.Microsoft Rebound


This is also one of the 3 games that come with the Touch Pack. You can use your fingers to propel a ball and annihilate your opponent in this game. You can either play against the computer or challenge a friend and battle it out in the electrified court to see who emerges as a champion.

6.Microsoft Garden Pond


This game is about playing with fish and water. With this game you can guide your origami creations to peaceful areas on the pond or direct them with gestures to complete the goals that have been set for you. Once you get into the game gently move the origami by making ripples in the water.

These virtual worlds always give your peace and harmony making life more sweet and happier; at least on your touch-enabled computer.

~Natarajan Kumaraswami

Getting Started with SMPlayer on Windows (to Play Movies Better)

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There are lots of video players out there, but one that we think gets overlooked is SMPlayer. It can do anything other video players can do and even more – like remembering where you left off in case you get interrupted during a movie.

Yes, SMPlayer remembers where you were when you closed a video and starts up at that spot the next time you open it. In fact, SMPlayer remembers all of your settings for each video, so if you had to delay the audio by 100 milliseconds to sync it up properly, it will stay synced next time. SMPlayer comes with all of the codecs it needs built-in.

It’s fully open source, and available for Windows and Linux. This guide focuses on the Windows version.

Installation

Installation is straightforward, using the familiar setup wizard. One option that you may or may not want to install are a set of optional codecs. These codecs are stored in SMPlayer’s directory, not in any of the Windows system directories.

There’s no downside to installing them other than the loss of a few megabytes of hard drive space, but almost all videos will play without these optional codecs.

If you’re using the smaller (recommended) installer, the setup wizard will download some packages during installation.

Setting Options

You can now open up SMPlayer through the start menu or a desktop shortcut if you made one during installation. Once you open SMPlayer you’ll be greeted with its clean and simple interface.

While most of the default options for SMPlayer are sensible, there are a few settings we recommend changing. To do this, click on the Options menu item and then Preferences (or just press Ctrl+P).

Click on the Drives item in the list on the left. If you know the drive letter of your CD / DVD drive, then select them here. If not, click on the Scan for CD/DVD Drives button.

This will eliminate the drives that are not CD / DVD drives from the drop-down boxes. In our case, we just have one CD / DVD drive, F.

Click on the Interface item in the list on the left, and then the Instances tab. Put a checkmark in the box labeled “Use only one running instance of SMPlayer” If you don’t, then when you double-click on a movie while another one is playing, it will open up another instance of SMPlayer, playing both videos at the same time.

Using the Keyboard

Keyboard shortcuts make SMPlayer simple to control. It won’t take long until these become automatic.

All of the keyboard shortcuts can be changed. Open the preferences window (Options > Preferences or Ctrl+P) and select the Keyboard and Mouse item in the list on the left. Click on the Change short… button to change the shortcut associated with any action.

You can also change how much time is skipped with the arrow keys and page up / page down shortcuts. To do this, click on the Interface item in the list on the left and then the Seeking tab.

Always Use SMPlayer to Play Movies

After you’ve tried out SMPlayer, you might want to make it the Windows default so that when you double click on a movie it opens in SMPlayer. If you’re using Windows XP, then in the preferences window there is a File Types section to associate files with SMPlayer.

This won’t work in Windows 7 unless you’re running SMPlayer as an administrator. Instead, it’s easier to use Windows 7’s built-in Default Programs selector.

Select SMPlayer from the list and click “Set this program as default” to associate SMPlayer with all files it can open – which includes both audio and video files.

This might not be ideal if you already have an audio player that you like. If that’s the case, click on the "Choose defaults for this program” option and check the file types that you want to associate with SMPlayer (for videos, common file types are .avi, .mpg, .mkv, etc.).

Conclusion

SMPlayer is a fast feature-rich movie player for Windows and Linux. If you’re having problems with your current movie player, or are just looking for a change of pace, you might want to give SMPlayer a try!

Download SMPlayer for Windows and Linux

Sync Files Between Computers and Mobile Devices with Live Mesh

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Would you like to be able to access your files instantly from anywhere?  With Live Mesh you can sync files between computers, mobile devices, and even Macs which is both free and easy. 

Live Mesh is a free service from Microsoft that lets you sync files between PCs, Macs, Windows Phones, and an online desktop with 5Gb of storage.  You can sync any file or folder from any and all of these locations. Live Mesh gives you full control over your files, so they can be synced with 2 computers, one computer and the cloud, or 30 computers – your choice!  You can also remotely access any connected computer’s full desktop from any internet connected computer worldwide via the web interface.

So let’s get started.

Head over to Live Mesh and click the Sign in button.

Sign in with your Windows Live ID (including your Hotmail, Messenger, or Xbox login), or create a new account if you don’t already have one.

Welcome to Mesh!  You’re immediately welcomed with a link to your Live Desktop.  This is your online desktop for Mesh where you can save your files online and sync them from your computers.  Click connect to see it.

The online Desktop works very similar to your Windows desktop, including the Aero look and feel.  Mesh helps you quickly get setup with helpful tutorials the first time you login.

Now you can add a folder.  Simply click the “Create New Folder” and enter the name you want for your folder.

Click the down arrow on the dialog box to choose where to sync your files.  Remember, files and folders in Mesh can be synced between any 2 locations, so if you wish to only have the file on 2 computers and not online, or on one computer and online, it’s up to you.

You can easily upload files directly from the “Explorer” window in Mesh, and can also rename and move files.

Or, you can even view a Silverlight-powered slideshow of your pictures by clicking on the Media View button.

But Live Mesh’s best feature is that you can directly connect with your computers and Windows Mobile devices.  Click on the Devices button to return to the main screen.

Now click the “Add a device” link, and select the appropriate download.  Mesh supports Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7, including 64 bit versions. It also works with Windows Mobile and a tech preview for Mac OS X.

Installing Mesh is very simple.  It runs quietly from the tray and lets you know its progress with a small indicator.

Once it is installed, simply sign in with your Windows Live ID (the same one you used to sign in online).

Now add a name for your computer so you’ll know which computer it is from the Live Desktop.

Now you can easily add files and folders to your Mesh so they can sync with other computers or the Live Desktop.  Simply right-click on any folder, and select “Add folder to Live Mesh” and you will be presented with all of the sharing options you had on the Live Desktop.

All synced folders will have a Mesh sidebar which shows recent activity in that folder.  You can also view this bar by clicking on the Mesh icon in your taskbar.

And now, when you sign into your Live Desktop, your computer will be listed with your devices.  You can even choose to remotely login to your computer if you wish directly from the Live Desktop online.

Mesh also works on Windows Mobile devices.  Simply visit the Live Mesh site from your phone’s browser, sign in with your Live ID, and download and install Mesh from there.

Once installed, you can sync any folder from your phone, or access other folders in your Mesh.  This is a great way to keep your Windows Phone in sync with your computer!

In Closing:

Mesh is a great way to keep files synced across your computers and mobile devices, and even on the cloud.  Whether you need to keep all your documents on your desktop and laptop, or make sure that crucial file is available from anywhere with an internet connection. Check it out, and let us know what you think!

Links:

Sign up for Live Mesh

Avant Web Browser

Since everyone has Internet Explorer installed on their Windows system, you may be interested in using another browser named Avant which works by using the IE engine.

The program has a lot of innovative features, is loaded with easy to reach options, has a truly flexible interface and is easily downloaded and installed because its only 2MB in size.

Let’s begin today’s introduction with an innovative tool in the Avant browser that allows you to automatically scroll down a page on your monitor and even adjust the movement speed.



The standard keyboard shortcuts are the same as IE, like pressing F11 for full screen, but you might also like checking out the F12 trick, which causes the browser panel to cover your whole desktop space while still allowing access to the quick launch taskbar.



Using the Avant tool, shifting back and fourth among the web addresses visited is easy since you can conveniently reload the websites pages you have just closed via a few mouse clicks. This option can be found at the top of the Avant interface.



Certain security related settings are easily switched on/off, like the way graphics load or how your browser interprets Javascript requests. These options and more can be found under the Tools menu.



Clearing up the web browsing traces including cookies, stored web passwords and auto-complete is easy too, since it's all accessed via a single panel. How convenient!



If you are interested in adding some new skins to your web browser, you can easily do so by accessing the drop down menu which is comes with with several decorative interface styles.



Importing and exporting bookmarks listings of the frequently visited websites addresses is also included in the Avant browser and is accessed under the File menu.



You can visit the following link and download the latest version of Avant browsing software: http://download.cnet.com/avant-browser/

~Hamid Reza

A List of Defined Basic Computer Terms

Until I explained it to her, my mother did not know what a browser is. The woman has been on the computer for years, yet when I said, ‘Close out your browser” the other day, she asked (a bit testily, I might add), “Is that the place where I get my mail?”

Okay, maybe some of us know a little more than that – and maybe not. There are a lot of us that don’t know some of the most basic of computer terms, and would rather die than admit it at the risk of being embarrassed. I mean, everybody knows this stuff, don’t they?

Nope.

Below is a list to help familiarize you with basic terms that you may have heard “everybody” use and had no idea what they meant.

Here we go:

Boot: To start up your computer. If your computer is already on, reboot means to restart it.

Browser: Ask my mom. Seriously, though, a browser is a program that you use to “browse” or “surf” the web. If you sit down at your computer and you get on the internet, you are using a browser. You cannot visit anything on the internet without a browser. Some examples of current browsers are Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, Google Chrome, and the latest, Avant.

Desktop: Like the top of your desk, the desktop on your computer is the part of the screen that contains folders, icons, etc. It’s kind of a file system. There can be folders, icons, documents, and you can arrange them any way you like, or even toss them out, since there is a Recycle Bin (which is called a garbage can in my office).. You can see a picture of my desktop below; I cleaned it up just for you!



Download: When you download something, you are transferring data from another computer to your computer, usually over the internet. You are going to receive the data. On the other hand, if you want to upload something, you are going to give something from your computer to someone else’s.

Font: A font is the style and size of lettering. For instance, if you want to compose a letter that looks like it has been written in calligraphy, you might want to use a font like Monotype Corsiva, instead of the one I have been using here, which is called Arial. There is a huge selection of fonts that you can download for free off of the internet.

Hard Drive: Simply put, a hard drive is where all of your files, pictures, videos, programs, etc. are stored. There are different sizes of hard drives, depending on how much stuff you want to have on your computer. For example, if you are a video editor, you need a very large hard drive (videos can be very big files). If you only use your computer for the internet and to do your taxes, you don’t need a very big hard drive. When you hear about people “losing their hard drive” it means that they have lost all of the data that was stored on their computer.

Hardware: Hardware is all of the physical stuff of your computer, like your mouse, your keyboard, your monitor, your printer, your stereo speakers, etc. Software, on the other hand, runs as the non-tangible part of a computer. Your anti-virus program is software. Data, files, images, and videos are all examples of software. You need both software and hardware for a computer and its parts to run.

Icon: An icon on your computer screen is a very small image that represents an object or program that you have on your computer. Some examples of icons:


This icon represents Internet Explorer.


This icon represents Windows Media Player.


This icon represents Microsoft Word.

Link: When you click on http://www.worldstart.com, you have clicked on a link.
A link is the address of wherever you want to go. Sometimes the link can be to a file, an image, or a video as well as a website.

Operating System or O/S: “What operating system are you running?” The first time I was asked this many years ago I felt like an idiot having to ask the tech what that meant. Simply put, an operating system (or O/S) is the main program (software) that manages the hardware and software of the computer which allows you to use it. Current operating systems include Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows XP, Linux, Windows Vista, and the new Windows 7.

PC: Your computer! This stands for personal computer.

Reboot: This means to restart your computer. Often programs will ask you to reboot after you install them (Windows Updates is a good example of this). To boot a computer means to start it the first time.

Search Engine: Sometimes when you ask someone about something particular they will tell you to “Google” it. What they are telling you is to go look it up on a search engine (in this case, it’s Google). A search engine is a program that searches for documents with information based on the criteria it is given and returns the results. For instance, if I wanted to know why my HP printer all of a sudden quit and has a red blinking light, I could go to a search engine and type in “Printer stopped red blinking light HP” and the search engine will return pages of documents where I could go to see how to rectify my problem.

There are many search engines you can use, such as Yahoo, AskJeeves, or Altavista. If you want a list of search engines, you can go “Google” one!

Upload: When you going to upload something, you are going to transfer it from your computer to someone else’s, usually over the internet. You are going to give it to someone else. When you download something, you are transferring it from their computer to yours; you are receiving it.

So there you have it; a list of defined basic computer terms. Now when it seems like “everybody” knows this stuff, you can rest assured that you really do.

~Lori

Configure Your Computer to Backup to Windows Home Server

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One of the cool features of Windows Home Server is being able to set backups of the other computers on your network to the server. Today we take a look at the process of configuring a computer on your network to be backed up automatically to WHS.

Backup to WHS

To backup a computer your network, open the Windows Home Server Console and select Computers & Backup. Right-click the computer to backup and select Configure Backup.

The Backup Configuration Wizard kicks off…

Wait while the Configuration Wizard collects information…

Choose the disks you want to backup…notice you can also choose external drives if you wish to back them up. Note that the disk needs to be formatted as NTFS, if it’s not then it won’t be displayed in the list.

Now choose the folders you want to exclude from the backup. The grayed out locations are automatically excluded but you may want to remove them from the exclude list. If you want to exclude other folders click on the Add button.

Now go through and select the folders to exclude from the backup. To reduce the size of your backups, you might exclude large media files and unimportant documents, pictures…etc. Make sure you don’t exclude your most important documents, pictures, and other data.

After you’re done excluding folders from the backup, click Next to continue.

Then you’ll have the Congratulations screen showing a summary of the backup size, the time of day backups will occur, and the backup frequency which is daily.

After the backup process completes you’ll be able to see if a computer has been backed up or not in WHS Console.

If you want to change the time of day backups occur, click on Settings in WHS Console then Backup. Under Backup Time you can change the start and end time to what fits your schedule.

To view a backup just right-click on the computer and select View Backups.

It opens the View Backups window where you can verify and manage your computer’s backups.

Conclusion

This will get you started with backups and you’ll have peace of mind knowing that your computer’s data is being backed up to the server. The process is relatively simple and the main thing is to make sure the backups aren’t needlessly large with unnecessary files (such as large multimedia files). There’s a lot more administration you can do with backups, and we’ll be taking a detailed look at managing them in future posts…so stay tuned. Remember that you can download a free 30 day trial of Windows Home Server, so if you have an extra machine you can dedicate to being a server, you might want to check it out.

Download the 30 Day Trial of Windows Home Server

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What’s the difference between Wordpad and Notepad?

A:
That’s an excellent question! They look basically the same, but in certain ways they are very different. The main thing to remember about these programs is that they are both very basic programs and can perform only basic tasks. If you want a lot of bells and whistles, you will probably do better with a full featured word processing program like MS Word.

Notepad and Wordpad are text-editing programs that are built into all Windows operating systems. If you don’t have a program like Microsoft Word, you can use one or both of these programs, depending on what type of document you need to write. Notepad does very basic text editing, while Wordpad steps it up a notch and leans towards being a word-processor. Notepad can actually help you build a website by being a basic HTML Editor while Wordpad doesn’t have that function. Take a look at some of the differences between Notepad and Wordpad.

#1. Formatting/Page Setup

Notepad is a very basic text editor. You can specify one font and insert tabs for an entire document; you can’t format paragraphs differently, either. In addition, the font is not saved with the document; if you look at it on another computer you will see it in whatever font is available.

Wordpad does have a lot of word processing capabilities. You can align paragraphs, change the fonts, and do things like add bullets to your document. Unlike Notepad, when you save your document, all formatting is preserved so that anyone seeing your document will see exactly what you typed.

Both Notepad and Wordpad have basic page setup options: you can add footers and headers, set your margins, and specify whether to print vertically or horizontally.

#2. Graphics.

Notepad has no capabilities to insert graphics. On the other hand, you can insert graphics into Wordpad, as well as edit them.

#3. Text files.

Notepad saves its files as text files, which is a huge positive. Any operating system can read a text file, whereas other operating systems may not be able to read other formats. For instance, UNIX (a non-Windows operating system) can only read Microsoft Word if you use certain programs, and even then it depends on which version you use.

#4. Web pages.

Here’s where Notepad really shines. Many people who use HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) in their web pages find Notepad useful as an editor. Notepad only supports the most basic formatting, however. If you need special formatting (like changing font) then you need another HTML editor.

To sum this up:
If you want to produce a simple document, or edit a web page then you can use Notepad. If you would like additional formatting options, then you should opt for Word pad.

When you begin a Notepad document, it looks like this:



When you begin a Wordpad document, it looks like this:



To open Notepad, point to Start, then Programs, then Accessories, and then left-click Notepad.

To open Wordpad, point to Start, then Programs, then Accessories, and then left-click Wordpad.

Both of these programs are small and open quickly and efficiently when opening small files.

Happy editing!

~Lori Cline

Time to Start Over

So, if you're like me then when you started working with Office 2007 and found that you couldn't customize the Ribbon you were a bit frustrated.

After all, in previous version we could add and remove individual toolbar button, create custom menus, rearrange the menus as well as the items on them… heck, we could even change the icons on the toolbar buttons.

But I digress… so here I am with Office 2007 and it seems that I've lost all abilities to make it my own.

Well, it turned out not ALL abilities.

There is that little toolbar they left for us to customize… you know, the Quick Access Toolbar.



Seeing the opportunity, I immediately made it my own and began to customize by adding and rearranging buttons to my heart's content.

While I really felt that I "needed" all those customizations I've found that I really don't use a lot of them and don't even remember what some of the icons mean. Not to mention that once the initial shock that the Ribbon creates wears off there really isn't a whole lot that I truly need on that toolbar.

Now that it's loaded with "stuff" that I just don't use my mind wanders to the possibilities of cleaning it up and trimming it down.

With that as my goal the decision is made… it's time to start over.

In essence, I want to reset the Quick Access Toolbar and make only customizations that I'll actually use.

Fortunately, Microsoft thought that we might feel this way from time to time and included a reset button - you just have to know where to find it.

Start by clicking the down-arrow to the right of the Quick Access Toolbar and then choosing More Commands.

When the Options dialog box opens you'll be looking at the place where you made all these hasty decisions that have lead us to where we currently find ourselves.



Click the Reset button below your list of chosen commands.

You'll then be asked to confirm your choice.



Click Yes to proceed with the reset and then OK to exit the Options dialog box.

Presto-chango! You've got a clean slate and are ready to build a useful toolbar this time.

~April

Windows 7 Performance Tweaks

Everyone seems to be in love with Windows 7, so this article's intent is to share cool tips with people who are interested in getting the most out of the OS -especially those who are running Windows 7 on older, under-powered systems.

Go easy on the effects
Everybody loves glitter, but all those cool effects come at a price -particularly on very old Computers with slower processors and negligible memory. If you’re one of those who care more about zippy performance rather than transparent Windows and animated controls, then consider turning off the visual effects.

To do this :
Click Start, and in the Search Box type “Visual”, minus the quotes.
“Click Adjust the appearance and overall performance of Windows”.
Select “Adjust for best performance”
Click Apply.

Though the windows won’t look as flashy anymore, you’re sure to feel the quicker response time while working. However, if the Windows appearance is too bland for your taste, then you can select the Custom option, instead and pick whichever effects you want to restore. Remember, the more you enable,the greater the performance hit.

Spring Cleaning
Most brand name PC manufacturers insist on stuffing their brand new systems with
unneeded, unwanted software that hogs system resources and drops the performance level. Stuff like security suites, games you will never play and other vendor-branded features that are additional nuisance can all be uninstalled. Simply venture to the
Control Panel and just click “Uninstall a Program”.

Show me the RAM
There can never be enough RAM, simply because the more memory you supply, the more efficiently (faster) Windows performs. With Windows 7, however, to address any more than 3GB of memory, you will have to run the 64-bit version of the OS.

Worry not, as long as you've bought genuine copy of Windows 7, you will find a 64-bit installation disk in the box. So just pop it in and go through the breezy installation. Apart from recognizing extra RAM, 64-bit Windows tends to make much better utilization of your PC's processor, giving you the very best Windows experience available.



Security Essentials
Given the history of Windows not being a very secure system, it's refreshing to see Windows 7 pre-loaded with useful safety tools like the spyware-blocking Windows Defender and a strong firewall. However, you still need a good quality antivirus program that isn't too heavy on the system resources and performs quietly in the background. Microsoft's Security Essentials is a good example, and provides real-time protection towards viruses and other malware. Not only does it hold it's own against other popular antivirus software, it's performance impact is negligible. Best part? No cost involved!



Rescue Disk
Remember the time when new PC's used to come with a nice system recovery disk right in the box ? It's a trend that has been unfortunately phased out over the years. A system recovery disk is your only resource if your system ever becomes unbootable, so it's essential that you make your own using a blank DVD. Worry not, it's a fairly straightforward process.

First, insert a blank DVD in your DVD burner. Now click Start and type “Repair” in the Search Box. Select “Create a System Repair Disc”. From there, simply follow the instructions on your screen, label the disk and keep it in a safe place.



This disk includes a variety of recovery and diagnostic tools and also allows you to choose a System Restore point to bring your Computer back to its last functioning status. So, if you come across any computer trouble, fret not; just boot your system with the repair disc.

Chrome is King
Last but not the least... The Web browser is certainly the most used application on your computer, so it is very important to use one which doesn't slow down the overall system performance. This means getting rid of Internet Explorer and moving on to Google Chrome. Not only is it fastest in terms of browsing speed but is also light on the resources and has more features than the default windows browser.

So to summarize, the key to running windows smoothly lies in:

Reducing the eye candy
Getting rid of pre-installed junk
Upgrading to 64 bit
Using Microsoft Security Essentials
Creating a rescue disk
Using an alternative browser instead of Internet Explorer

Hopefully, all these tips will help you get even more juice out of your Windows 7.

~Yogesh Bakshi

Old Version

Who says newer is always better? Sometimes the older versions of programs just seem to work better. Maybe you finally got the hang of the old version when they totally revamp the interface of a new program. Maybe you liked the way things were laid out in the prior version of a particular program. Maybe the new version of some commonly used program has issues with your system or just seemed released too early, and it's crawlin' with bugs.

I believe a good example of this would be AOL 9. When it first came out there were some issues with it, people couldn't get online and this problem wasn't easy to fix. Would you want to be offline because your ISP prodded you to download a new version of a program that in my opinion had all sorts of issue that should have been more thoroughly tested before released into the wild? I know that even AOL was asking people that were having issues that could not easily be negotiated to go back to version 8 until things could be ironed out.

Older versions of programs can also be better to run on older systems. If you have an older PC being used in the house you can always keep the file size down and the CPU usage to a minimum using programs that were more geared towards these systems resources.

Whether you're not happy with the new version of a program, or you need something to run on that old 98 box, then you may find this site accommodating. Older Versions is a website that offers downloads of older versions of some of the most popular programs. Older versions of AOL, CD Clone, DeadAIM, and a bunch of Media Players and all kinds of instant messengers. Go check it out you may find some useful downloads.

http://www.oldversion.com/

~ Chad

Turn Your Windows 7 Laptop into a WiFi Hotspot with Connectify

Click here to read this article in a browser

In some computing situations, you might need to create a WiFi hotspot quickly so other wireless devices can use an Internet connection. Today we take a look at Connectify which easily turns your Windows 7 machine into an instant WiFi hotspot.

You might be at a location where there is only one Ethernet connection available (hotel room, office or meeting room etc.) and you need to share the Internet connection with other people or devices. Connectify is a free utility which is light on system resources and makes it easy for you to set up your Windows 7 machine as a secure WiFi hotspot.

Note: Connectify only works with Windows 7 Home and above, Starter is not supported.

Connectify

Installation is quick and easy, and once complete, you can access Connectify from the icon in the Taskbar.

Under settings, type in a name for the WiFi network, a password to access it, then decide the type of internet connection you want to share. It allows LAN, VirtualBox Host-Only, Wireless Network Connection, and no Internet sharing. When you’re ready, click on the Start Hotspot button.

Now you’ll see it running and can begin connecting your other wireless computers and/or devices.

Now that Connectify is running on the Windows 7 laptop, In this example we go over to an XP laptop and connect it. Open up Wireless Networks and you’ll see the new hotspot we just created that you can connect to.

You’ll be prompted to enter in the Network Key (password) you set in Connectify twice, then click on Connect.

Wait for a moment while a network address is acquired…

Here you can see the XP machine is connected to the Geek-fi network we created on the Windows 7 machine.

When you go back to the Windows 7 machine you can see the device(s) connected. It also keeps track of devices that were previously connected as well.

Right click on the Connectify icon in the tray to get different options for running it.

In our tests, the signal strength and connection speed was adequate, but may be a bit slower than your used to. Results will vary based on the type of hardware you have sending and receiving the signal. Overall though, if you need to create a Hotspot in a pinch, Connectify is more than capable. If you’re looking for an easy way to share your Windows 7 wireless connection with other devices, and want it to be secure, Connectify get’s the job done.

Download Connectify

How To Install and Setup Windows Home Server

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Have you ever wanted to be able to access all of your important files, music, photos, and more from all computers in your home from one central server? Today we’ll take a look at Windows Home Server and show you how to install and configure it with other machines on your network.

Windows Home Server (WHS) is meant for your family needs or for use in a home or small office. It allows you to centralize your important documents and digital media files on one box and provides easy access from other machines on your network. It has the ability to backup 10 computers and restore them if needed. It acts as a media server, backup solution, data recovery, document management, and allows you to access what you need from anywhere there is a web connection. Using a personalized website address, it lets you securely download and upload your data files.      

You can buy server machines that already have WHS installed on it, or you can create your own (which is a lot more geeky and fun). The cool thing is that you can repurpose an older desktop to run Windows Home Server. A machine with a 1GHz Pentium III, 512MB of RAM, and an 80GB Hard Drive will work as the minimum requirements, but as you know minimum and recommended requirements are completely different things. You can check out the minimum and recommended system requirements from Microsoft’s WHS PDF guide (link below).

Start the Installation

Installation is very straight forward and easy to do. Boot from the WHS installation disc and kick off the install wizard.

Select your region and keyboard settings…

Now choose the drive(s) that are in the machine. In this case there is only one, but if you have multiple drives, make sure they’re listed. If you want to add additional drives at a later time, it’s a simple process that we will cover in a future post.

Select New Installation…

Accept the Microsoft EULA…

Enter in your Windows Home Server Product Key…

Next it’s time to give your new Home Sever a name…

Again verify the hard drives that will be formatted…

It’s going to ask you again to make sure all the data will be deleted from the drives…

Finally it’s time to kick off the installation process. The amount of time it takes to complete will vary between systems. Count on the entire process taking a minimum of one hour and perhaps longer.

There is nothing needed from you while the install takes place. The system will reboot several times and you’ll see different screens displayed while the process completes…

Finish Installation

When you get to the following Welcome screen, you’re almost done.

Type in a password and password hint for the server.

Decide if you want to set up automatic updates or not…

Choose if you want to join the Customer Experience Improvement Program or not…

Choose if you want to turn on automatic Windows Error Reporting…

That’s all there is to it.  You don’t need to leave a keyboard, monitor, or mouse to the server. The only thing you needs to be connected is an Ethernet Cable running to your router (Wireless isn’t supported). You can administer the machine from any computer on your network after installing Windows Home Server Connector on the other machines.

Windows Home Server Console

To connect the computers on your network to the server, you’ll need to install the Windows Home Server Connector which is available as a separate download. You’ll need to install the WHS Connector to every computer on your network that you want to connect with the server. It connects your computers to WHS, allows for automatic nightly backups, monitors computer network health, and enables you to remotely administer the server from your computer.

If you don’t want to waste a CD to install it, you can use a free program like Virtual CloneDrive and mount the ISO and transfer the files to a a flash drive.

Before installing the connector on XP you’ll be required to install Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 and it’ll guide you through the process if needed.

When you start WHS Connector Setup it will look for the Home Server…

Then it’s just a matter of working through the rest of the wizard.

During the process you’ll need to enter in the password you created for the server.

Decide if you want your computer to wake up if it’s in sleep mode to back it up…

When configuration is complete, we’re shown our settings -- wake up the computer for backup between 12:00 and 6:00 AM. Also in this instance, we’re getting a message that one of the drives in the PC won’t be backed up. This is because it’s formatted as a FAT 32 volume and it will only backup drives formatted as NTFS.

The Home Server Console icon sits in the system tray and you can control some of it’s settings by right-clicking the icon.

It will display your network’s health and show security warnings (this feature can be easily turned off). In this instance we can see one of the machines on the network has its firewall turned off.

When you open up WHS Console, you’re prompted to log into the server. There are a few other features here to like having the password remembered, password hint, and resetting the console.

Once you’re signed in, you can configure and administer the server and its different functions. We’ll be taking a closer look at the WHS Console in future articles.

If you need to make more detailed changes to your server, another good option is to use Remote Desktop, which is easier than hooking up a monitor, keyboard, and mouse to it.

Download Updates

Now that installation is complete we need to add all the of the latest updates from Microsoft. Click on Start \ All Programs then Windows Updates. This will provide you with the latest server security updates and Power Pack updates as well. Power Packs are updates that add new features and provide fixes to known issues for Windows Home Server.

Conclusion

This guide should get you started using your new Home Server. It comes in handy in a lot of cool ways if you want to centralize your digital entertainment and access it from any machine running XP or above. Or if you have a home or small office and want to be able to access your work from anywhere there is a web connection. There are several good reasons to have your own server at home, if you’re a power user. Over the next year we will be bringing you more detailed tutorials on how to set up and use your Home Server. If you happen to have an extra desktop you’re not using and can dedicate as a server, they offer a free 30 Day trial so you can try it out for yourself. If you like it, you can purchase a full license and I have seen it around the web for around $99 or a little cheaper depending on where you look. 

Download Windows Home Server 30 Day Trial

Download Windows Home Server Connector Software CD

Windows Home Server Getting Started Guide (PDF)

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Share Access Data with Excel in Office 2010

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Being able to share Access data with other applications is easier in Office 2010. Today we take a look at how easy it is to share data from an Access 2010 Database to to an Excel spreadsheet and more.

Share Access Data

First we’ll take a look at sharing an Access table to an Excel spreadsheet. Open the Access table you want to export and click on the External Data tab. From here you can see a bunch of different options you have for exporting the data. In this example we’re using exporting to Excel so click on that.

A window comes up asking where to save the file, the file format, and some other exporting options.

In the next screen you might want to save the Export Steps to make it easier the next time or if you’re working with several documents and need to do the same thing. From here you can also set up an Outlook task if you regularly need to repeat it.

The data goes into Excel and you can start working on it here, or send it where it needs to go.

There are a lot of other applications Access 2010 will let you export data, like text files, Word, a SharePoint List and more. There is an easy Word Merge feature so if you have a database of addresses you can easily incorporate it with Mail Merge.

Sometimes getting the data you need out of an Access Database can be a bit daunting. It looks like these tasks will be a lot easier in Office 2010, which will be great for increasing productivity.

Try the Office 2010 Beta

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Use Remote Desktop To Access Other Computers On a Small Office or Home Network

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If you have a home or small office network with computers in several locations, you may want to work on them all from one machine. Today we take a look at the Remote Desktop feature in WIndows that allows you to connect to each computer on the network in XP, Vista, and Windows 7.

Note: Remote Desktop is not a feature available in Home version of Windows.

Enable Remote Desktop in Vista and Windows 7

The first thing we need to do is enable Remote Desktop on a Windows 7 or Vista machine. Right-click on the Computer icon on the desktop or from the Start menu and select Properties.

Now click on the Advanced system settings link.

Click on the Remote tab and under Remote Desktop select the bottom radio button… Allow connections only from computers running Remote Desktop with Network Level Authentication (more secure).

You can also select what which users on the network will have Remote Desktop access.

Enable Remote Desktop in XP

Enabling XP in Remote Desktop is basically the same. Right-click on My Computer and select Properties, click the Remote tab and under the Remote Desktop section, click the box next to Allow users to connect remotely to this computer.

Using Remote Desktop

Now when a co-worker or member of your family needs help, or you want to work on computers in other locations and don’t want to site at each machine, you can remote into them. Pull up Remote Desktop and enter in the name or IP address of the other computer.

The first time you try to remote in (where in this example I’m remoting into a home server), you may get a security screen which you’ll want to allow and can select to not show again.

When you log in you will need to type in the name and password before connecting.

Now you can work on the Windows Home Server from a desktop computer in the living room.

Logging into a Vista machine is the same process…enter the user name and password for that machine.

And then you can can start working on the Vista machine.

Here we’re remoting from a Windows 7 machine into an XP computer on the home network, and another security message is displayed. It’s a bit different than when remoting into a server, but again you can choose not to have it pop up every time you connect.

Working a way on the XP laptop…

Options

When remoting into a machine, there are different options you can select before starting the session that will change the Remote Desktop experience. You’ll need to experiment with these settings to find what works best for you. If you’re looking to make the process faster, especially on older hardware, turn down the display size and color of the remote connection. It might not be as pretty, but you can get work done more quickly.

While you’re logged into the other computer, the user will be locked out while your in it…

So make sure the person sitting at the machine your working on doesn’t try to log in during your session because they will log you out.

Conclusion

Unfortunately Remote Desktop is not a feature in Home editions of XP, Vista, or Windows 7. However, there are several free utilities and services you can use to get the same results, and we will take a look at some of them in the. IT guys already know about the great benefits of Remote Desktop, but if your starting out with a small network, this should help you get started in using it. If you do have Professional, Business, Enterprise, or Ultimate editions of Vista or Windows 7 or XP Pro installed on the machines on your network, using Remote Desktop is a great way to work on them from a central machine.

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Learning Windows 7: Desktop Themes and Backgrounds

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When getting a new Windows computer, the first thing many people do is tweak the background and themes to change the look and feel. In this article we will show you how to change themes and backgrounds, find hidden themes, and create a background slideshow on your desktop.

Change Themes and Backgrounds

Here we take a look at the default theme for Windows 7. It’s actually not that bad looking and some of you may want to keep it.

If you want to customize the look and feel of Windows 7, a great place to start is with Themes and Backgrounds. To change the appearance right click an empty area on the desktop and select Personalize.

In the screen that opens you can go through and try out different ones from Aero Themes to High Contrast Themes.

For example here we take a look at the Landscapes Aero Theme. You’ll notice it changes the Background and color of the window border colors. It also changes the sounds specific to the Landscapes theme.

The Background will change images periodically. You can adjust time intervals by going into Personalization and clicking on Desktop Background, which will be set to Slide Show by default.

Here you can decide which background pictures are shown, how often they change, and the picture position. In this example one of the Landscapes pictures is unselected, it will change every 10 minutes, and are set to shuffle.

You don’t have to use the pictures for the specific Themes either. You can go through all of the pictures and select the ones you want in different categories like something in Characters for example.

There are several different default pictures to choose from. Click the Picture location drop down menu to explore different categories.

Create a Custom Theme

So now you’ve played around with the default pictures and themes but you want to make your own and customize it up a bit. You can use your own pictures…click on the Browse button then navigate to the directory where your pictures are located.

Then the images in that folder will be displayed and you can use them for backgrounds.

Once you have a picture selected for the Background Screen you can then start customizing other features like the Window color.

You have several choices of different colors and can mix them around to get it to your liking.

You can change the sounds of your theme too.

Here you can go through different sound schemes and see how they will sound for different program events like logon, system notifications, low battery alarm…etc.

You might also want to select a screensaver to go along with the theme.

Choose the Screen Saver you want to use and customize its settings then hit OK.

If you end up with a theme you like you can save it under the My Themes category.

You can also share your custom themes with friends, family, and co-workers. Right-click on the theme you want to share and select Save theme for sharing.

Give it a name and it will be stored in My Documents folder, then you can share it with your family via Homegroup or email the file to them.

To use the custom theme, they will just need to double click on the theme pack file.

Create Background Slide Show

By this time you have probably figured out that you can easily create a customized Background Slide Show. This comes in handy while you’re at work or home and want to easily show off some pictures. Or you just might be bored and want to play around with the settings. We already have a guide that you can read -- How To Turn Your Desktop into a Picture Slideshow in Windows 7.

Discover Hidden Themes

Usually the version of Windows 7 you receive includes region specific themes based on your country and language. You can access other regional Aero themes that are hidden deep in the system also. In the example below it’s a theme for South Africa. To find out how to access these hidden themes read our article – Access Hidden Regional Themes in Windows 7.

Conclusion

This guide should get you started using the themes feature in Windows 7. You might find something appealing with the default themes offered by Microsoft, but the real fun comes when you create your own. If you’re looking for some awesome wallpapers to use in creating your own themes, check out our list of collections below. Have fun!

Dual Boot Your Pre-Installed Windows 7 Computer with Vista

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/8834/dual-boot-your-pre-installed-windows-7-computer-with-vista/

You have just received a new computer with Windows 7 pre-installed on it, but you might still be fond of Vista and want to create a dual boot system. Today we take you through the process of creating a Windows 7 / Vista dual boot system without using any third party software.

Assign Drive Letters

If you have extra drives like media card and optical disc drives, you might want to do a bit of renaming to keep them straight. Type Disk Management into the search box in the Start menu.

Then right-click on the drive you want to change and select Change Drive Letter and Paths.

In this example we’re renaming the DVD drive to (E:) this way we can keep our main 2 partitions as (C:) for Windows 7 and (D:) for Vista. 

Create a New Partition

Now with Disk Management still open we need to right-click on the C: drive and select Shrink Volume.

A window pops up showing the drive is being queried for available space.

After it finishes, you want to enter the amount of space to shrink the volume by. Remember that the size you select is in MB so, like in this example. 40,000MB is equal to 40GB. The minimum to go with on a Vista install should be 20GB. Before choosing a size, you’ll want to plan ahead and think about how much data you’ll be adding to the Vista partition. You’ll also want to plan for how much space you want on the Windows 7 partition as well. Here we know we’re not going to be putting a whole lot of data on the Vista partition so it’s sized accordingly. When you have the amount of space entered in, click the Shrink button.

It will take a moment for the process to complete when it does you’ll see the new Unallocated space. Right-click on the Unallocated space select New Simple Volume.

That starts up the New Simple Volume Wizard that is a straight forward process. When you get to the following window the drive letter D will be selected by default if you changed the drive letters in the steps above.

Then in the Format Partition screen you can leave the default settings how they are. One thing you might want to change though, is the Volume label. In this example we renamed it Vista Volume so it’s easier to identify when we start the Vista installation.

After its complete you’ll see the volume listed in Disk Management and if AutoPlay is enabled, it will pop up too.

You will also see it listed in My Computer. Now everything looks good to go. The Windows 7 disk is label as (C:), The new Vista Volume as (D:), and the DVD drive as (E:).

Install Vista on the New Partition

Now that we have our new partition it’s time to install Vista on it. You want to boot from the Vista disc that you have. Most computers will let you choose the boot option by hitting the F8 or F12 key during startup. Each computer varies so you might want to refer to the computer manual or watch the boot screen (it usually says which key to press to get the boot option). You can also go into the computer BIOS setting and select your CD/DVD drive as the first boot device.

And kick off the installation as if you were doing a clean install of Vista.

When you come to the screen to select where you want to install Vista, select the partition we created earlier.

After the first time Vista reboots during the install process you’ll notice both Vista and Windows 7 in the Windows Boot Manager screen. It will still be there after the Vista installation is complete so you can chose either one at startup.

If you want to set up one or the other as the default OS, go into Advanced System Settings as explained in The Geek’s Article.

Conclusion

Creating a Windows 7 / Vista dual boot system is a bit easier than Windows 7 / XP because Vista won’t overwrite the bootloader so you save a couple of steps. Of course you might want to use a third party utility to create your partitions, but with Windows 7, the functionality is already included and works well. If you want to create a Windows 7 / XP dual boot system we have a guide for that too.

Diagnosing Hard Drive Problems

What exactly is a computer hard disk?

http://www.computertooslow.com/diagnose-hard-disk-problems.asp

A computer hard disk lets you store data on your computer. Nowadays, the size of the internal hard disk ranges to as high as 1000 GB unlike external hard drives that can hover in the TB range. The more the hard drive space available on your computer the better the speed and the capacity to store more information on your computer.

How can one diagnose a computer hard disk problem?

A hard disk failure message

The only time diagnosing a hard drive problem is easy is when you get a Hard Disk Failure message on your computer. Aside from such messages, symptoms that are associated to a faulty computer hard disk may in fact be due to a different hardware problem and not the PC hard drive.

A disk failure message on your computer screen could be due to failing power supply. To resolve this, check your power connection. If the connection is good, then the problem may probably be coming from the power pack charger that you can easily replace by visiting the nearest computer store near you.

The next possible reason for a hard disk failure message could be due to a loosely connected interface cable. Check to see if the cable is well-connected to the hard disk.

Unusual Sound from the hard disk drive

A mild noise from the hard disk of your computer is normal. However, an unusual noise is due to a failing computer hard disk. The best thing at this stage is to backup all data on your system. Shut down the computer system and unplug it from power for a while. If you are using a laptop, remove the battery for some time.

"Cannot load Operating System" or the PC is on but the OS is not coming on

Let us start from the bad news. The boot sector may be faulty and needs reformatting. Note that reformatting will delete all data, so ensure that you back up your files before you do this. Before you do that, check to see if the power connection is okay. If you are comfortable with opening up computer systems, check for a loose connection.

Cannot Access Hard Disk after Booting from an External Disk or Storage Device

A virus infected external disk or storage device could temporarily deprive you access to the data on your hard drive. To resolve this problem, perform a complete system scan with an up-to-date antivirus and resolve any issues.

• Install Updates
• Run a Virus Check
• Diagnose Windows Freezing
• Safe Web Browsing Guide
• Computer Backup
• Increasing Internet Speed
• Computer Blue Screen
• How to Format a Hard Drive

Bug busting: Getting Rid of Spyware

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/community/columns/bugbusting.mspx

Published: March 21, 2005

By Sandi Hardmeier, MVP

Spyware. We have all heard about it. Many of us have fallen victim to it. Sadly, although it is very easy to get it on to our computers, it can be very difficult to get off. There are programs available that will help to clean your system, such as AdAware, Spybot Search and Destroy, and the new Microsoft Windows AntiSpyware (Beta) but they may not get rid of everything. Also, the way that you use such software can have a big impact on the success (or otherwise) of your cleaning attempts.

The purpose of this column is to guide you through some steps that will (hopefully) increase your chances of successfully cleaning your computer. I will tell you what to do, but will try not to overwhelm you with "why" we are doing things in a particular way. Take things one step at a time. Start at the beginning and work to the end. If you can't finish a particular step, or are confused, don't experiment. Ask for help in the newsgroups or in one of the specialized anti-spyware forums (listed in the Related Links box).

Why is it so hard to remove spyware?

Badly behaved spyware is very anti-social. Often it is self-aware, using multiple hidden processes that may not only take over your Web browser and generate pop-up windows, but also search for and disable popular antivirus and anti-spyware programs. Also, the spyware will often hide installers in different folders and automatically reinstall if removal is attempted, often when the computer is restarted, but sometimes as soon as the spyware is removed or stopped.

It is very important to keep this behavior in mind when trying to remove spyware. The key is making sure that the spyware has little opportunity to reinstall, and that we empty out the most common hiding places.

Preparation

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Let's get cleaning

Part 1

Part 2 - Re-infection after cleaning

If you have completed all the scans above and cleaned your computer, but your problems continue, or after restarting the infection returned:

Restart into Safe Mode without trying to clean the system again. To do this you need to hold down the F8 key while the computer is booting (when the computer is displaying a black screen with white text). When the boot menu appears, use your keyboard arrows to select "Safe Mode."

Safe Mode can look quite ugly. The color may look bad, and all of your desktop icons will be very large. This is normal.

Complete full system scans with AdAware, Spybot and, if you have installed it, Microsoft Windows AntiSpyware (Beta). Some experienced advisers are recommending that users run the Microsoft Windows AntiSpyware (Beta) twice while in safe mode - it certainly won't do any harm.

Part 3 - A final check

Boot back into Windows after you have completed the second Safe Mode scan. Repeat all the scans one last time. If your system is still infected, then there is nothing more we can do without extra assistance and it is time to go further afield. There are several forums that are dedicated to providing assistance with removing spyware that I have found very helpful, a couple of my favorites are aumha.org and spywareinfo. Either of these forums will be happy to provide the personalized assistance required to remove the worst spyware.

If you are unable to access the Internet after removing spyware you will need to run LSPfix or Winsockxpfix (as appropriate). If you are using Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) and are unable to access the Internet after removing spyware, there is a command that may fix the problem, removing the need to run Winsockxpfix. It works by resetting the winsock catalogue. Click on Start, then Run and type CMD in the dialogue box that appears. Click OK. Type "netsh winsock reset" into the DOS window that appears.

"netsh winsock reset" can sometimes fix internet problems caused by removing spyware.

Microsoft has published two articles relevant to the problem of broken Internet access after removing spyware:

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The last steps

If you are running Windows XP or Windows ME, and your computer has been successfully cleaned of spyware, there is one more thing that needs to be done.

Delete any old restore points and then create a new restore one. The old ones may, of course, be infected with the spyware and cannot be used.

First, start and then stop the Restore Service. This is done differently depending on what operating system you are running.

Windows XP:

Windows ME:

To set a manual restore point complete the following steps:

Now that your computer is clean, you should take steps to prevent problems from recurring in the future. Anybody running Windows XP should update to Windows XP SP2. Also, Microsoft has released information about how to avoid spyware.

My earlier column, Malware: Prevent the Infection builds on Microsoft's advice by discussing in more detail some of the common infectors.

Help Protect Yourself from Online Crime

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/community/columns/saferbrowsing.mspx

Published: November 8, 2004

By Sandi Hardmeier, MVP

Over the past few years, online banking and other Web-based financial services have exploded in popularity. As our lives have become more hectic the convenience and simplicity of online transactions have released us from standing in line and saved us much valuable time.

It was inevitable that the dishonest among us would notice our increasing use of the Internet and look for an opportunity to swindle and scam. The modern day 'rip-off merchant' uses social engineering to trick unsuspecting people into voluntarily giving away sensitive personal information such as credit card numbers, Social Security numbers, Personal Identification Numbers (PINs), and passwords with an ultimate goal of credit card or other monetary fraud, and identity theft. They may also use HTML e-mail and security vulnerabilities to download malicious software, such as Trojan Horses, onto victim computers.

In this column I will illustrate a few of the tricks that criminals use to try and convince us to trust them, reveal some of the ways that they hide their real identities, and provide information about how to help protect yourself from their harmful effects.

What is Phishing?

Phishing: creating a replica of an existing Web page in an attempt to fool a visitor into providing personal, financial, or password information.

The criminals responsible for phishing will send e-mail that claims to be from a legitimate business or government organization. The 'from' address will sometimes look legitimate but will often be fake.

The e-mail message may display pictures downloaded directly from the spoofed company's real Web site. If the company being imitated has sent e-mail in the past (for example, advertisements) the fraudsters will copy the format of the e-mail right down to the tiniest detail.

When a victim clicks on a false link in the e-mail message they are taken to a Web site that is an exact copy of a real business site. If there is more than one link in the message, several may go to a real business site, but the URL to be used to capture the victim's personal information will go to the fake site.

Below are some examples of what phish e-mail messages look like.

When we compare the URL in the message body of the e-mail (1) to the URL in the status bar (2) we can see that they are different.

Phish e-mail messages can look legitimate because they often use images or logos from the Web sites of the business they are pretending to be.

Tip: Check hyperlinks carefully
NEVER click on a link in a possible phishing e-mail message. Always type the URL of the company into your Web browser's address bar. Rest your mouse cursor on a hyperlink and look at the status bar to see where a hyperlink really goes.

Phishers sometimes use HTML forms sent via e-mail.

The fake form is used to collect sensitive data.

There were no false hyperlinks and all graphics were the real thing. Again, the Microsoft Outlook Express message window's status bar saved the day, revealing the real address behind the 'Security Center' button.

Sometimes phishers make a URL very long to try and hide their trickery. Here is an example:

Mousing over the link reveals a long URL in the status bar.

In the above example, the real, much longer URL was hidden and looked like this:

The danger here is that versions of Internet Explorer that don't have the latest security patches will ignore everything before the '@' character, and attempt to connect to the IP address at the end of the URL (which is not a Woodgrove Bank IP address). Also, because the URL is so long, the hapless victim cannot see the phisher's target URL in the Outlook Express status bar. Another danger is that not only is the target site hidden in the Outlook Express status bar, Internet Explorer may also display only www.woodgrove.com in its Address bar, when in fact it is connected to a phishing site.

There is another phishing technique that uses JavaScript to overlay a picture on to your browser's address bar thereby hiding where you have actually been sent. Sometimes the exploit does not work, as can be seen from the example reproduced below. We can plainly see the overlay picture — in the wrong place!

A phishing exploit that didn't work. The real Web address is exposed.

This technique does not work on systems running Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) because the Service Pack prevents hiding of the address bar. Below is a screen shot of an exploit demonstration page visited using Service Pack 2:

Windows XP Service Pack 2 helps prevent the phishing overlay technique from working.

Here is the same page, visited using Microsoft Windows Millenium Edition and Microsoft Internet Explorer version 5.50.4134.0100

The fake Web address lays over the real one.

Tip: Update to Windows XP Service Pack 2 and install all Internet Explorer critical updates.

Types of messages to look out for

Phishers use very plausible excuses in their e-mail to convince people to go to their Web site and input financially sensitive information. The e-mail will use various approaches, including:

The Risk of Viruses

Always use an up-to-date antivirus program, and a firewall, for maximum protection from viruses and hackers. Some spam or phishing e-mail may try to download a virus on to your computer. I have received many spam e-mail messages that tried to download and install other malicious software.

Tip: If you receive a phishing e-mail message, don't go to the criminal's Web site even if you know it is false and you have no intention of providing personal information. Not only do some phish email messages attempt to install a Trojan horse onto a victim's computer, there have also been phisher Web sites that attempt to do the same thing.

Some antivirus programs are smart enough to detect an attempted phish by scanning for URLs that attempt to take advantage of known security vulnerabilities, or URLs for known phish web sites. The PhishBank.BL trojan detected below

Some antivirus programs will detect phishing e-mail.

Protect Yourself

Get helpful plug-ins

Not all antivirus products are the same - some may not detect phish URLs, and in any event, antivirus software is only as good as its latest update. Happily, there are plug-ins available that will help you reduce the risk of being fooled by phishers.

My favorite tools are the 'Spoofstick' toolbar and 'SpamBlocker' (which is a feature of a free toolbar provided by EarthLink).

Spoofstick and EarthLink's SpamBlocker work differently. Spoofstick simply shows you where you really are, and is especially useful against address bar overlays and long URLs that hide their true address. SpamBlocker redirects your browser away from known scam sites to a warning page and must be updated regularly. It is only effective against known and reported phish sites.

The Spoofstick shows you the real Web address.

SpamBlocker redirects your browser away from known scam sites.

Update to Windows XP Service Pack 2 with enhanced Outlook Express

The latest version of Outlook Express makes it much easier to protect yourself from dangerous scripts, and to hide from spammers and phishers. The picture below shows the Outlook Express security tab, and the settings that can help prevent spammers from discovering if their e-mail has been opened. These settings will help provide protection from hostile scripts and stop viruses from using Outlook Express to send spam e-mail without your knowledge.

Use these settings on the Outlook Express Security Tab to hide from spammers and phishers.

Get the latest updates

Get the Windows XP Service Pack 2 update and install all Internet Explorer critical updates to help protect against fake URLs.

If you do not have access to Service Pack 2, there are some ways you can protect yourself from the exploit.

Make sure it's secure

Always check the security status of a Web site before submitting financially sensitive information. Check the browser's status bar for a closed 'lock' icon. This indicates that the information you are providing will be encrypted during transmission, to help keep it secure.

Look for the lock icon.

Tip: What does TRUSTED mean?
The 'trust' granted by a browser, is not the same as the 'trust' granted by a person.
The 'lock' icon simply shows you that the address (the 'domain') of the site you are visiting matches the security certificate for the site. In other words, a browser's 'trust' is based on electronic paperwork, not reputation or behavior.
The 'lock' is no guarantee that the 'domain' is run by a 'good guy.'

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The Last Word

The best protection from fraud is knowledge. Many of the major banks and financial institutions, and others who have been affected by phishing have information on their Web sites about their e-mail policy or advice on how to detect fraudulent e-mail that target their customers. If you receive a possible hoax e-mail message, report it to the business or government organization being spoofed. They will want to take immediate steps to protect you and their other customers. Remember that legitimate online businesses should never ask you for sensitive personal information such as passwords, bank account or credit card numbers, PINs, or Social Security numbers via e-mail. If you accidentally supply financially sensitive information to a suspicious site, contact the spoofed company immediately for advice and instructions.

Use the Windows Automatic Update service to install all critical updates relevant to your system. Install and regularly update an antivirus program. Use a firewall. Most importantly, be alert. Responsible companies will not request sensitive personal information by e-mail.

The example companies, organizations, products, domain names, e-mail addresses, logos, people, places, and events depicted herein are fictitious. No association with any real company, organization, product, domain name, email address, logo, person, places, or events is intended or should be inferred.

An Organized Computer is a Happy One

How does your computer look? Can you find documents and email easily? Or do you have so many documents and email you don't know where to start? Organizing your computer is an important part of making your life easier and more efficient. Here are some ideas to get your computer organized and keep it that way.

1. The best thing about filing documents on your computer may also be the biggest challenge. Set up broad-category folders within My Documents (in Windows) or on your hard drive (in a Mac). You can also set up subfolders within each category. Use the computer's sorting function. An easy way to organize is by file types. Put 'AAA' (or a space) in front of the names of the most-used folders and 'ZZZ' (or a bullet) in front of the least used ones.

2. Name your files and folders with meaningful and recognizable names. Also, be specific and include dates if possible. The goal when naming files is to be able to tell what the file is about without having to open it and look.

3. Reserve your desktop for items that need immediate attention. When you are done with them, file them in the proper folder. Try not to store documents long-term on your desktop. You can also use the Desktop Cleanup Wizard. In the Windows program, you can use this automatic desktop cleanup tool. Go to 'Start,' 'Control Panel'. In the 'Desktop' tab, click 'Customize Desktop'. Then choose 'Clean Desktop Now'. You can also choose to run this tool periodically. The wizard moves unused items from the desktop to an archive folder.

4. Back up your files often so they can be cleared from your computer. There are a number of affordable back-up options that will keep all your important files, media and photos saved if anything should happen to your computer. This is very important. It is better to be safe than sorry.

5. The most common type of computer files that creates clutter are music files. Music files have shrunk in size over the years, however, they add up fast and you can lose track of how many you have stored on your computer. You should regularly remove excess mp3's onto discs, flash drives or backup drives to keep your computer clear of clutter.


6. People send you pictures in email, you get them off your camera, and you get them off the Internet. They can come from anywhere and they add up quickly. Store pictures in the same place, re-naming them so you can recognize them later. There are numerous options to store your photos, whether you utilize a program that is already installed on your computer or the program that came with your digital camera. There are also downloadable options available online, or online storage.

7. An effective email system is easy to establish and maintain. Reserve your Inbox for action items. Set up email file folders. Set up individual folders for people with whom you communicate often. Create additional folders related to specific projects, events and companies, and a holding file for pending email that you plan to keep for a very brief time. Last, but not least, create a folder name 'Important' for high priority items.

8. Put complete information into the subject line of email so they will be easier to find later. You should also allot an amount of time each day to review and file email. Try to download and respond to email no more than twice a day. An important tool to use in Outlook is the Message Rules tool. You can set up your rules for the system to do certain things with different email messages automatically.

9. Other ways to tackle your email include avoiding subscriptions to online newsletters that don't contain helpful information. Limit your receipt of jokes and chain letter type email. Not only are they time consuming, they can also contain computer-threatening viruses.

10. Is your Internet Explorer Favorites folder busting at the seams? It needs weeding out and organizing from time to time. To organize your Favorites in Internet Explorer, on the Favorites menu, click Organize Favorites. Also, there is additional clean up that is easy to do. Start Internet Explorer and on the Tools menu click Internet Options. In the General tab of the Internet Options dialog box, you have two choices: (1) In the Temporary Internet files section, click Delete Files to remove all temporary files, and (2) In the History section, click Clear History to remove the list of sites you've previously viewed.

11. To keep your computer organized, remember to periodically review, purge and refine.

12. When you are done using your computer for the day, put everything back in its place. Put papers in their proper files, put pens and pencils in their container and put files away that you are no longer using. If you need to have certain files and paperwork easily accessible throughout the day, find an organization solution that compliments your work area.

13. Last, but not least, regularly clean your keyboard, monitor and peripherals. Use lint free cleaning cloths and a cleaner for electronics. Compressed air is also helpful for cleaning dirt and dust out of crevices and between keys.

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Smile!

Do you use G-mail Chat? Well, if you do, you'll probably want to take a look at the awesome emoticons you can pull off in the interface! Here's a list and what each emoticon does.



They're even animated! Go ahead, jump into G-mail Chat and experiment!

~Andrew

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Hidden Drives

If you share your computer with other people, you know privacy and security are very important. Thankfully, Windows XP allows you to have different user accounts for all the people using the same computer. These accounts can be password protected, but passwords alone do not always provide the best security and privacy.

You can encrypt and protect your My Documents folder and other personal folders with NTFS security options, but a curious user can still see your folders, their size and name -even if he can’t access them.

An extra layer of protection is never a bad idea if you share your computer with other people and you have private data stored on it.

One way to keep curious people from spying on your protected files and folders is to hide all the drives on your computer and make them invisible in Windows Explorer and My Computer. A quick simple change to the Windows Registry will allow you to protect your drives from prying eyes.

This Registry change only works in Windows XP, Windows Vista and the new Windows 7 have a modified Registry structure that prohibits these kinds of changes.

NOTE: Worldstart advises contacting a professional before you go pokin' around in the registry. There's some sensitive stuff in there!

To change a Registry setting we must first open the Registry Editor.

Go to the Start Menu and click on the Run command, situated above the Turn off Computer button. Then type the command "regedit" in the Open box and click the OK button.



The Registry Editor will now open.

The setting we need to change is located in the Registry structure, at the following address: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer



You must first click the plus sign next to HKEY_CURRENT_USER, to reveal Software.

Then click the plus sign, next to Software, to reveal Microsoft.

Next click the plus sign, next to Microsoft, to reveal Windows.

Now click the plus sign, next to Windows, to reveal CurrentVersion.

Then click the plus sign, next to CurrentVersion, to reveal Policies.

Finally click the plus sign, next to Policies, to reveal Explorer.

Left click on the Explorer key and then right click on an empty spot on the right side of the Registry Editor window.

Click New, and from the menu, select and click on DWORD Value.

Type NoDrives and press Enter from the keyboard.

Right click on the NoDrives value and from the menu select Modify.

In the dialog box, type 3ffffff (a 3 followed by six f’s) and click the OK button.

Now exit the Registry Editor by clicking File and then Exit from the menu.

The last step requires you restart the computer to make your drives invisible in Windows Explorer and My Computer.

Although your drives seem to be invisible, they are still there and can be accessed from within programs such as Microsoft Word.



If you wish to open an invisible drive in Windows Explorer, open My Computer and in the Address field type the path to the drive you want to access (for example C:\ ).



To make all your drives visible, open the Registry Editor. Follow the steps above to reach the Explorer key and right click on the NoDrives value. From the menu select Delete and click Yes when the confirmation box appears.

Restart your computer and all your drives will return to normal.

~Cosmin Ursachi

That's really useful! rate or add to this tip here!

Xcalday

I was browsing through WorldStart's message board today and I came across a great download that was discovered by one of our members who goes by the name of "Razzputin."

They posted a link to a little calendar program I thought was awesome! The program is called Xcalday and it's just a little calendar with a notepad. For each day, you can put in notes about what you need to do, etc. It doesn't seem like much, but trust me, it is very useful!



You can download Xcalday for yourself right here. Enjoy!

~ Gary

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Hard Drive Maintenance

Hard drives are one of the most important components of the computer system. A general unmonitored hard drive has a life term of about three to five years. A hard drive may fail without any prior warning, leading to the loss of all the data on the disk. And that's exactly why it's so important to keep your hard drive in good condition. This tutorial will guide you through all the steps you can use to improve the health of your hard drive. Here we go!

Step 1: Check the Drive for Errors

1.) Go to Start, My Computer.

2.) Right click on the C: drive and choose Properties.

3.) Under the Tools tab, click on the Check Now button.

4.) Check both the disk options and then click on the Start menu.

5.) If a prompt for a restart appears, choose Yes.

6.) Windows will then restart, check and repair any corrupted files on your drive.

Step 2: Convert the File System of Your Drive to NTFS without Losing Any Data

Windows uses either the NTFS or FAT 32 file system to maintain the records of all your files. The main advantage of NTFS is if your system crashes, the NTFS file system is capable of automatically fixing any problems that may arise. It's also capable of detecting and isolating bad sectors on your hard drive automatically. Those same features are not provided with the older FAT 32 system. To make sure your computer is using NTFS, follow these steps:

1.) Go to Start, Run.

2.) Type in "cmd" and then press Enter.

3.) When the prompt window opens, type "convert j: /fs:ntfs," assuming you're converting drive J. (If step 1 is not performed, the conversion may fail, so please follow all the steps sequentially).

Step 3: Defragment the Drive

As files are copied to and deleted from the hard drive, a process called fragmentation starts to affect performance and stability. Large files are scattered all over the drive and the drive has to work harder to locate all the different fragments. Therefore, the hard components have to cover the entire drive very quickly, just to access a single file. As a result, the hard drive’s life is shortened.

To overcome that problem, a utility called the disk defragmenter is provided with Windows. Here's how to use the disk defragmenter utility:

1.) Go to Start, My Computer.

2.) Right click on the C: drive and select Properties.

3.) Under the Tools tab, click on Defragment Now.

4.) Now, analyze the drive and then hit Defragment.

5.) You should do it at least once a month to keep your hard drive in its proper working condition.

Good luck!

~Ranjith Shetty

Take good care of that hard drive! Rate or add to this tip here!

Lost Documents

Have you changed your Internet Service Provider (ISP) lately? If so, during the transition, did you happen to lose some e-mails you wanted to keep? Or, how about this: you downloaded or saved a document and for the life of you, you can’t find it on your PC. Either way, don't panic, because all is not lost! Actually, nothing is lost, because your documents are there somewhere. It’s just a matter of knowing how and where to look for them.

Awhile back, my daughter did not come home from school at her usual time. I called the school, which called her bus and they reported that she had never gotten on the bus. She was missing. So, in working with the school and the local police department, we started looking for her in the places where she ought to be (for example, the school, our street, etc). We then expanded our search to places she was not expected to be, but might have wound up for some odd reason (like the recreation center). Now, please note that I only use her as an example here, because she did in fact arrive home safe and sound later on.

This relates back to your documents (be it an e-mail, a document you downloaded from the Internet or an e-mail you received) in that neither my child nor your documents have vanished off the face of the earth. Sometimes documents (and people) just wind up in odd places!

Unless you're using a Web based e-mail account (like Google, Hotmail or Yahoo!, for example), you probably have a POP (Post Office Protocol) e-mail account. There are tons of wonderful technical explanations in books and on the Web about how this works, but all you really need to know for our purposes here is that if you use a Web based account, your messages are stored on the Web, whereas with a POP account, they are probably stored on your PC. That way, you can still view them offline.

This also means that they are still somewhere on your PC, even if you change your service provider. For example, when I switched from Infinet to Time Warner Cable, I wasn't readily able to see my old e-mails from the Infinet account anymore. And that became a big problem when years later, I needed something from them.

The method for recovering lost POP e-mails is the same as the method for recovering missing documents, so let’s address that first. I used this method when a spreadsheet a co-worker had created for tracking certain statistics at work was saved, but no one could find it.

Now, when my daughter went missing, we started looking in the places we thought she ought to be and you do much the same with a missing document. Did you save it in your My Documents folder? Did you save it on your desktop? Did you save it on the C: drive? Is it on an auxiliary storage device, like a flash drive or CD ROM? Once you’ve ruled out the places it could have gone, you’ll have to expand your search, but just like it wasn’t practical for the people looking for my daughter to ask every single girl in every single business in town if she was my daughter, you don’t want to start opening every single folder on your hard drive. Some of them aren’t even easy to find. They’re just in strange places, like subfolders of subfolders and with names like “XZH67FGHY.” Don’t ask me why!

I had to give the police a description of my daughter (height, hair color) so that they would know what to look for. You also have to give your computer a description of what you’re looking for. Luckily, there’s a place to do that and an easy way to do that. Let's check it out!

Click on Start and choose Find (or it might say Search).

Next, choose Files or Folders. You should then get a screen that looks like this:

Patience will be a virtue here. Unless you remember the exact name of your document, you’re going to have to employ a few ways of describing your document. Let’s start by assuming you are looking for a Word document. First, check the Look in field to make sure it’s set to search the entire hard drive (C:), just like above. If it’s set for the A: drive (floppy) or Documents, for example, your computer will only look in those places and you’ve already looked there, so it would just be wasting your time.

In the Named field, you really don’t have to have the exact name of your document. For example, I’ve called this document “Wherefore Art Thou,” so let’s look for anything with “Wherefore” in the title. But, and this next part is important, since you’re not searching for an exact title, you want the computer to find anything that has that word in the name. This is critical when you’re looking for a document with a name you’re unsure of. You do this by adding *.* at the end of your search term. This tells the computer to search for anything that has this word anywhere in the document name. Let’s try to find this document.

Notice how I’ve typed the description into the Named field. Next, click Find Now.

Looky there! It found it. You can now open that document by double clicking on its name.

Now, what if you don’t know the name of the file? What if you're looking for an Excel spreadsheet that was saved before it got a proper name or maybe it was downloaded from an e-mail and you don’t know where it went?

Well, you can find types of files by using the same Named field, but instead of putting in a description of the document name, you can put in a description of the document type. You can do this by clicking on the Advanced tab in the Find All Files box and choosing your file type from the drop down menu.

Let’s see if I have any kicking around.

Quite a few, it turns out! It’s just a matter of checking the most likely ones out to see where the one you want is.

Now, it’s time to find a lost e-mail. Let’s say I was looking for an old Infinet e-mail (which had the extension of “infi.net” from my friend Sam).

This time I’ve chosen E-mail File from the drop down list:

I’ve also gone back to the Name and Location tab and entered “Sam” into the Containing Text field, because more than likely, the e-mail is probably not named “Sam,” but it will have his name in it.

Let’s see what we get!

I got nothing! Okay, I know they’re on there somewhere, so it's time to expand the search some more.

To make a long story short, you will need to keep expanding your search until you start getting some hits. They are there, I promise! I finally just searched all file types for my old Infinet e-mail username “nealshaw” and take a look at what I found:

Seventy files! Most of them are cookies, but several are folders in which the e-mail I'm looking for probably lies. Here’s what I found in my Netscape Users folder:

Mail files, including the Sent ones, the Trash ones (the ones I thought were gone!) and of course, my old Inbox. When I double click on one of those, it will ask me which program I want to use to open them. There are a ton of e-mails stacked in there, it turns out, so I chose to use WordPad or Word. Please keep in mind that this can be a time consuming process, especially if you have a lot of files, etc. on your PC and have been using it for years, like I have. But, all in all, the files are there. If I still haven’t found “Sam” at this point, I can wait until the e-mails are all converted to a Word or text file and search the document with Ctrl + F. (They were in there, by the way!)

One final note: With all the stuff you’ve found in your search, it might also have occurred to you that there are some files you really want, but are gone. I’m sure you’ve heard by now that deleted files don’t just disappear, they get relegated to some far corner of your PC until they are overwritten. It’s sort of like if you have a CD ROM of embarrassing pictures you can’t stand, but your kids think are hilarious. You can’t just throw it away and hope they don’t find it before the trash pick-up day. You need to drive over it with your car a few times until it’s broken into small pieces!

If you find a file of old e-mails or other items you want to be truly gone, you will need to ensure that it gets overwritten multiple times. If that's what you're looking for, check out this Web site. A program called Scar 5 will overwrite your specified files about 25 times. It’s pretty near impossible to recover them after that! Do use this with caution, however. This is a case where you need to be very specific, because carelessness here could wipe out your hard drive.

My daughter was safe and sound on the bus she was supposed to be on. (The driver just hadn’t seen her). She didn’t drop off the face of the earth and neither did your files or e-mails. We found the Excel file at my job by doing a search for all Excel files and it tuned up in a folder with some name none of us had ever heard of before!

When you do download or save files, it pays to really pay attention where you are putting them. Downloads often wind up in temporary folders, which you can track down by searching files with “Temp*.*”, but it's good to be a little more specific. You can also practice by trying to find all the pictures on your PC sometime by using the File Type drop down for JPEGs. Just a thought.

Happy computing!

~ Lisa Shaw

***************

Make the Most of Your Wireless Router



When it comes to connecting to the Internet, three options are the most popular. You can use a dialup connection, which is the slowest kind. A wired broadband connection will let you browse the web faster but it still means that you’ll be plugged into a cable in the wall. In other words, you’re bound to a laptop or PC in a fixed location -you can’t move around while you work. Wireless networks, on the other hand, allow you to be mobile. Set up a router in your workspace and you’re free to move around and access the Internet within the coverage area. But maximizing or optimizing that coverage area is where most people make mistakes, limiting their mobility. Follow these simple steps to help with a greater coverage area and better wireless connectivity.

It’s just a matter of understanding the simple mechanics behind the system. A router emits a signal that enables you to connect to the Internet. Often, people associate a poor signal with a faulty router, when that may not be the case. A signal will not improve if you’re trying to fix something that isn’t broken!



Location, location, location!

If a wireless connection throughout your home or office is what you're going for, placing a router in the corner of a room may not be the best thing to do. Instead, place the wireless router at the center of the workspace for maximum coverage area at an even signal strength. Metal objects tend to hamper signal strength. So don’t put your router on a filing cabinet! Also, keep your router away from thick brick walls or large objects that could interfere with a wireless signal. The simple rule: don’t place obstacles in the path of a signal that it needs to penetrate before reaching you. By the time the signal makes it past those hurdles, what you have is a weak signal that isn’t much help.

An add-on for a router

Sometimes, your router may need some help -that extra “picker upper”, especially if it’s an omnidirectional antenna. This is the most common kind of antennae that come with wireless routers and true to their name, emit wireless signals in all directions. “Omni” means “all” in Latin. But if you’re only going to be working in one direction of the router, placing it at the center won’t make much sense because much of the signal will be lost to the surroundings. Instead, what you might try doing is getting an HGA antenna that emits a narrow, focussed signal in one direction. That way, you ensure that the complete signal is used. But be sure to check that the router you use comes with a removable antenna before you make this switch.

Wireless interference

Thick brick walls and large objects aren't the only culprits of signal interference. Other wireless gadgets commonly found around a home or office like cordless phones, garage door openers and television remotes function through radio signals that most likely emit the same frequency as your wireless router. This can interfere with the strength of your wireless signal. Place your router away from such wireless equipment or adjust the frequency of the wireless router so that these signals don't interfere with each other.

Similar but not the same

Just like figuring out why you’re signal strength may not be as good as it should depends on factors like location and the kind of antenna you use, rather than a fault with the router, so does signal strength as distance increases between your computer and the wireless router. As you move your computer further away from the wireless router, the signal will inevitably weaken. To boost signal strength at the periphery, a repeater, or Wireless Access Point (WAP), and not another router, may just be the answer.



Stay within the family

Familiarity doesn’t always breed contempt. At least not in the case of wireless routers. Although this is not a fixed rule or guaranteed to affect a router's performance, buying a router and network adapter of the same brand may be a good idea. Often, manufacturers produce routers and network adapters that are compatible and may increase signal strength. Alternatively, routers and adapters of different brands may (though not always) conflict and result in weakened signal strength.

It’s time for an update

Something old or in less than working condition will cost more to maintain than just buy a new one. Almost always. The same applies for a wireless router. That’s not to say that you need to border on the brink of bankruptcy buying the latest technology. But it couldn’t hurt to visit the website of your router’s manufacturer from time to time. Downloadable firmware can fix old problems, improve your router’s performance and increase signal strength. Also, update the firmware of your network adapter. More serious problems however, may require more serious solutions.

Don’t always blame the router

As mentioned earlier, the less than satisfactory performance of your wireless connectivity may not be because of the router at all. Replacing or upgrading the router will not solve an unrelated issue. In addition to all of the above, you’re computer should also be well-equipped to receive these signals. Here, a reflector or wireless USB network adapter may help.



Do It Yourself Reflector

Treat this as a very useful craft project. Like a high gain antenna, a reflector can direct the existing signal, allowing you to take advantage of the signal the router is providing. Unlike an antenna, a reflector actually reflects an emitted signal in the desired direction. A tinfoil reflector acts like a mirror and is something that you can make easily. All you’ll need is some tinfoil, cardboard and sticky tape.

1. Cut a piece of cardboard into a 15 x 10 cm rectangle and wrap it completely in tinfoil.

2. Cut an additional piece of cardboard (or paper) into a circle. Bend the shape slightly.

3. Slip the antenna into the paper figure. The mechanism will serve as a dish to receive signals as well as reflect and redirect them.



~Zahid Javali

Infectious Macros

As I write this, Halloween is right around the corner, and I've got two scary words to put you in the mood:

"Word Macro"

Are you scrambling for you virus scanners? You've watched the news and know what big havoc these small programs can wreak with your computer. But here's the kicker: macros were intended to be--and are--big energy and time savers. Prove this for yourself by trying out a simple macro.

The Goal

The problem our macro will solve is to apply several kinds of formatting to a selection, and do so with a single key stroke. Here's what we're going for:



You might not ever need to use such formatting. But, if you did, a macro could make short work of the job.

Let's record our macro.

Inside Word, type some text and select it. Select Developer>Record Macro. (If you don't see the Developer tab, unhide it by selecting the colorful MS Office icon in the upper left corner of Word, choosing “Word Options” and then checking the "Show Developer Tab in the Ribbon" option.)

Enter "myMacro" for the macro name, then click the Keyboard button. In the "Press new shortcut key" field, press Alt-O, then click Assign, and then Close. Word starts recording your actions. Apply all the formatting you want: bold, italic, double underline, wavy borders, fonts from Mars, the kitchen sink, you name it.

Figure 1: Recording the Macro



Figure 2: Assigning the Shortcut Key



Once your formatting binge feels fully sated, do these extra tasks on the text you selected: select Insert>Bookmark, enter "gaga" for the bookmark name, and click Add. Then press the left arrow key to go to the start of the selection. Select Insert>Symbol, pick out something frilly like a heart, and click Insert.

Figure 3: Inserting a Bookmark and Inserting a Symbol



Go to the bookmark you just made: Select Insert>Bookmark, choose "gaga," and click Go To. Press the right arrow key this time, and insert another frilly symbol just as you did on the left of the selection.

You're doing a lot of formatting work here, but don't tire out until you see your macro in action. Select Developer>Stop Recording. Then, pause for a moment and think about how long it took you to apply all that formatting. Imagine having to apply that formatting again and again and how long it would take to do it. You could do some of it with a custom style, but not the frilly symbols part. Even if you could, you'd miss out on: A.The fun of using macros and B. The power of macros to do what custom styles can't do: namely, everything that Word can do.

Replay

It's time to replay your macro. Select some unformatted text and press Alt-O, the keystroke you assigned the macro to when you began recording it. Ta-dah: instant formatting!

To Review

The next time you find yourself doing the same Word task over and over, try recording a macro for it. Macros aren't malware, they're just infectious.

~Darrin Koltow

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Wireless Security: Hacked

I have written several different articles about securing your wireless connections. Having an insecure wireless network is like getting a megaphone and announcing your social security number to your whole neighborhood. When your wireless network is not encrypted, anyone within range can gain access to your data fairly easily.

A few days ago, some bad news came through the line. It seems like one method of wireless encryption has been broken. A hacker has been able to break the encryption and gain access to data, even when the security is turned on. The encryption type that has been broken is called WPA-TKIP. It's one of the most common types of wireless network encryption, which means many wireless networks could be at risk.

So, how can you protect yourself? Allow me to explain!

Many wireless routers come with different types of security. The three main types are called WEP, WPA and WPA2. WEP and WPA are now vulnerable to attack. WEP has been known as a weak system for some time and WPA was just hacked a few days ago. On the other hand, WPA2 has not been affected. That means if you change your wireless security to WPA2, you'll be safe.

If you want to check and see what security you have on your wireless connection, you'll need the manual for your wireless router. Look in the manual for directions on how to set up the wireless security. Once you find that information, look to see which method you're currently using. If you're using WEP or WPA, you should change to WPA2. If you're not using any at all, please activate WPA2!

While most routers support WPA2, some do not. If your router doesn't support WPA2, you should continue to use WPA. Yes, it has been hacked, but it's far better than using nothing at all. Until next time, stay safe out there, my friends!

~ Gary

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New Twist on an Old Threat

Recently, I wrote an article on how to recognize and avoid Rogue software.

What the article did not cover, however, is how to remove a program should you accidentally get infected. Because there is a new and particularly nasty program infecting computers out there, this article explains how to remove Malware in general, and specifically, how to remove “Total Security 2009”.

The latest version of “Total Security 2009” can be classified as “Ransomware”. Earlier versions just indicated that your computer was infected and you should purchase the program to eliminate infections that were not really present. If you are unlucky enough to run across the new version, it will disable your PC until you activate it by purchasing a serial number from them.

The only program that is left functioning is a Web browser so that you can send them payment.


Figure 1: Example of the opening screen of “Total Security 2009”

The program disables your computer by popping up fake warnings that claim any file the user opens is infected and the only screen displayed says you must send payment.


Figure 2: Example of an infected file warning.

Users who choose to pay the ransom (as I write this the cost is $79.95) receive a serial number that releases all files and executables. The computer will appear to function normally, however the fake software will remain on their systems.

There are several ways to remove this threat and other malware.

A: Restore your computer to a prior state using “System Restore”
Here is a link to a WorldStart article that has System restore instructions for Windows XP
http://www.worldstart.com/tips/tips.php/bsod-precautions

Please Note: Some malware erases restore points so this method may not be available.

B: Register the “Total Security 2009” software by submitting a serial number and then run an up to date anti-malware program to remove the Ransomware.
Fortunately, PandaLabs has a list of serial numbers on their Web Site that can be used to release your computer. The serial numbers and a video showing what happens on the screen of an infected computer are located here. The scammers frequently change how their programs work so the listed serial numbers may not work for long.

C: Start your computer in “Safe Mode” and then run an up to date anti-malware program.
To get to Safe mode, press the F8 key when Windows starts to boot. You have to do this Before you see the first "Windows" screen.

~Boyd Lutz

There's some nasty stuff out there! rate or add to this tip here:
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No Virus Thanks

With all the viruses out there today, you can’t be too careful when it comes to protecting your computer. And now, with No Virus Thanks, you can scan a file for Trojans, worms and viruses for free by using several different antivirus programs. Let's check it out!

To use No Virus Thanks, go to the Virus Scanner tab and click on Browse to choose the file you want to scan. Then click on the Submit File button. It will then scan your file. When it's finished, it will give you a report like this. Scroll down to the Antivirus Result section to see what it found during the scan. Thankfully, mine found no infections for the file I submitted.

If you run into any problems while scanning, head on over the FAQ tab. There you'll find answers to the most commonly asked questions.

This is a great Web site that will help you keep your computer virus free for free!

http://www.novirusthanks.org/index.php

~Amanda

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Tech Support Tips

Sometimes the pleasure of owning a computer is overshadowed by the need to ask for assistance with a computer issue. Calling for technical support does not have to be an unpleasant experience. Preparing yourself before you make that call, and knowing what to expect while talking to support representatives, can help ease the way.

1. Before you pick up the phone, have as much information at hand as possible. Any product serial numbers should be within easy reach and be prepared to answer these questions:

• What version of Windows are you using?
• What, if any, changes did you make to your system before the problem occurred? Include both hardware and software changes, and be honest!
• What is the exact wording of any error message you receive?
• What steps have you taken to try to resolve the issue on your own?

2. Make your call to tech support when you are relatively free from distractions. Being able to focus on what is discussed will go a long way to aiding both you and the tech you are talking to. Do not yell, insult or use profanity no matter how frustrated you are. Most companies advise their techs to hang up on any caller using abusive language. No matter how frustrated you are at the hold time before your call is answered, remember that the tech you are talking to was helping someone else, not ignoring you.

3. Be prepared to verify your address, phone number and even your e-mail address before moving on to your issue. The technician is not being nosy by asking, but rather doing their job. After all, verifying your statistics ensures that your computer is still in your hands and not those of a thief. Many companies require techs to log all calls. If you have called for support before, your statistics may be used to bring up your records and help the technician deal with your issue. Also, if you are using e-mail support, make sure your e-mail address is correct and complete. Otherwise, the tech won't be able to get ahold of you.

4. Be frank about your level of computer expertise. Support technicians talk to customers with vast differences in their skill levels, from the beginner to the expert. If the tech is moving too fast, ask them to slow down. If you don't understand something, ask them to clarify. Don't be embarrassed to admit you are in unfamiliar territory. Likewise, try not to second guess where the tech is leading you and jump ahead. Working together is the surest way to a resolution.

5. Listen carefully to everything the tech is telling you. Most techs have a wealth of knowledge they are more than willing to share with attentive callers.

6. Stick to the subject. Unless you are involved in a long procedure with lots of down time such as a complete Windows reinstall, avoid chit chat. There are many other people waiting to have their call answered (just as you were) and while you may not be working, the tech is.

7. Make sure you get all the help you need. If you have called for assistance with installing hardware, the technician should also help you install the drivers for that hardware. If you have more than one question, jot them down ahead of time so you don't forget them and have to call back.

8. Don't ask your support person to do something that is not their job. For instance, if you have called your computer manufacturer for assistance, don't also ask them to help you with an AOL problem. If you have called for help with installing software, remember it is not the technician's job to train you on that as well.

9. If your computer issue can not be resolved with one phone call, ask the technician to take ownership of it. Many techs are willing to go the extra mile for a friendly customer and will research your problem, then get back to you when they have the solution.

10. Say thank you. Support technicians are people too! If your tech has done an especially good job or kind act, ask if you can send an e-mail to their supervisor to express your appreciation, and then follow through.

Having to call for support on today's technology will probably never be a truly pleasant experience, but it doesn't have to be a painful one either. Don't be intimidated. Being prepared for the call and knowing what to expect ahead of time will make it easier for you and the technician on the phone. And you might just learn a tip or two along the way!

~ JoAnn Sommer

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Is there a way for a left-hander like me to make my mouse easier to use?

A:
Since Windows 98, a feature was included for changing the buttons on your mouse, allowing you to replicate the feel of the right-handed mouse (like having the primary mouse click be your pointer finger).

To switch buttons on your mouse to a left-handed configuration in Windows XP, go to Start>Control Panel , "Printers and Other Hardware" (if in category view), then Mouse . Go to "Button Actions" and change the Left button action to "Right Click" and the Right button action to "Left Click". (Don't be surprised if your user interface looks different. Just look around, the feature should be there somewhere).



For Windows Vista users, go to Start>Control Panel and make sure you're in Classic View. Double-click Mouse and under the Buttons Tab you'll see a checkbox to switch the mouse button configuration. Like this:



Something else to think about—if you're in a position where you're using the computer all the time, it might make some sense to distribute the wear-and-tear on the mouse to both arms (and decrease the wear and tear on your left arm). Using your left hand to work with the mouse can be tough at first, but with a little practice it becomes just as natural as using your right hand. Follow the directions above, then start practicing.

~ Steve

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The Big "Fix It"

Today, while in the midst of my usual research into all thing MS Office I happened upon a part of the Microsoft Help and Support site that I had never seen before. (OK - so maybe it has been there since early this year - more research - but I didn't notice it until today so now that I know, I thought I'd pass it on…)

Anyway, I ended up at Help and Support Home Page (once again) and noticed something with a lot of potential in the list of links on the left side.