Computer Maintenance
E-Mail Tips
Protecting Website Content
Protecting Your Computer System and Files
Internet & Web Related Problems & Solutions
Reviews of Digital Devices
Most of the following articles are based on my own experience, some of which was
quite painful in terms of both time and money. My thanks to the computer and
Internet experts who have contributed other articles to this department and helped me over the years to gain computer and Internet expertise and
knowledge about how to work safely and effectively on the Web. - Barbara
Computer Maintenance
Gateway Computer Problems, Service Technicians, and Accessing the Internet
Without a Browser. Expert advice from software engineer and developer, Gavin
Landon.
HOW TO Do a Windows System File Check and find the hidden system files on
your computer; plus info on the LINUX operating system and thoughts on
Microsoft's restrictive registration policy for Windows XP operating system.
HOW TO Prepare for and Recover from a Computer Crash. How well you prepare for a
crash will determine how stressful and costly the experience will be.
Dealing with Annoying "Power Bricks"
"Power bricks are those annoying black lumps, sometimes known as AC Adapters,
that sit somewhere between the outlet and a device. Ordinary power cords aren't
too hard to tidy up—use twist-ties or zip-ties or Velcro straps to bundle
cords together and loop the excess somewhere out of sight. Power bricks are a
pain: they take up space, they give off heat, and the cords they come with don't
always let you put them somewhere out of the way.
"Worst are the bricks that have
to be plugged directly into an outlet, covering up neighboring outlets or
falling out because they're too heavy and awkward. In the old days, you might
only have one or two electrical doodads on your desk that demanded special
treatment—an adding machine (remember those?), a pencil sharpener (remember
pencils?), maybe a telephone answering machine. But now computer speakers,
printers, monitors, and even computers themselves are bringing along these
humpbacked companions, and they're all jockeying for an electrical teat." ~
Jeffrey Wakeman
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E-Mail Tips
Gmail: One
Solution . . . but do you know that Google's User Agreement
gives them the right to use your private email content? Be
sure to read the User Agreement
before you do your email on Google's website.
Handling "Spam Spoofers"—What to
do when someone steals your email address
or URL to send junk or pornographic mail.
HOW TO Make Your E-Mail Address Invisible to Spam Bots
How Two Web Entrepreneurs Handled Their E-Mail Identity Theft Problem
Protecting Website Content
HACKED! How My Business Was Ruined by a Hacker.
A Special Report by Dennis Gaskill,
Boogiejack.com. Any Website is a potential target, and yours could be next. RELATED ARTICLE:
To Catch a Content Thief. Dennis shares a simple way to search the Web
to see if someone has stolen any of the content from your website.
What to Do When Someone Pirates Your Images or Content. Excellent. article in
James Dillehay's Craftmarketer Newsletter
What to Do When Someone Steals Your Content.
Another excellent and very detailed article
on the "Lorelle on WordPress" blog, with many helpful links on what to do when
content from your WordPress site has been stolen.
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act
If someone has infringed your copy, you need to send Google an Infringement
Notification that details the copyrighted work that has been infringed upon.
This page, "Removing
Content from Google," provides detailed instructions.
To send Digital Millennium Copyright Act
notifications to other major search engines and directories, see,
"How to Send DMCA Notifications." Links to sample DMCA template forms (as
Word documents) can be downloaded
HERE. |
Protecting Your Computer System and Files
Carbonite: The
Best Little Computer Backup Program You'll Ever Find. This two-part article
details Barbara's experience in using Carbonite to securely and effortlessly backup
her hard drive and website files (with special tips and how-to information you won't get from
Carbonite).
HOW TO Avoid Lightning Damage to Computers and Other Electronic Equipment.
Barbara's research
on the new generation of surge protectors, with links to several articles on
lightning protection strategies and a manufacturer's confirming response to
article.
How Norton SystemWorks Crashed My Gateway Computer.
An article now primarily of historical interest because of the many reader
responses it brought when first published. Anyone with a Gateway computer or one
using Norton's anti-virus software will find it of interest.
What You Need to Know about Spyware, the Alexa Toolbar, Free Software and
Anti-spyware Programs. Downloading the Alexa Toolbar created havoc with Internet Explorer and locked up
Barbara's whole system
resources—an experience other readers have also reported on in part two of
this article.
Internet
& Web-Related Problems & Solutions
HOW TO Improve Your Google Rankings
with the Right Keywords in the Right Places. Barbara's proven technique for using keywords, link and image tags to get your
most important website pages on page one of Google's search engine.
How to Solve Your Internet Connection Problem. Barbara's proven tips for what
to do when you lose your Internet connection and get a message saying "Local
area connection, a cable is unplugged."
HOW TO Speed Up Your Cable Internet Connection. Firewall tips and how to fix that Internet cable
"time-out" problem you may be having with Windows XP.
How to Tell the Good Guys from the Bad. The Internet is rampant
with con artists and businesses that have questionable reputations, and many
advertise with Google ads. Be aware: clicking the wrong link in an email or on a website
can lead to computer grief or financial loss.
Oodles of Google Tips—How to Maximize Your Search Power, by Traci Vanover
Using Internet Discussion Boards to Advance Your Business, by Eileen Coale
Reviews of Digital Devices
The
Olympus Digital Voice Recorder. This tiny, almost weightless voice recorder
is perfect to stick in a pocket or purse to capture reminder notes to yourself,
sounds of a family get-together, something you're hearing on radio or TV that
you want to hear again, or any other sound that strikes your fancy and is worth
keeping.
Kindle Addiction: Why I Love the Kindle, by Mollie Wakeman,
with an introduction by Barbara, who details her use of the Kindle for pleasure
and Kindle for PC for her editing, writing, and eBook publishing work;
with
links to free downloads for Kindle for PC and MAC computers.
Famous Last Words
"The telephone has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered
as a means of communication." - Western Union executive, 1876
"It would appear that we have reached the limits of what is possible
to achieve with computer technology, although one should be careful
with such statements, as they tend to sound pretty silly in five
years." - John von Neumann, 1949
"640,000 bytes of memory ought to be enough for anybody." - Bill
Gates, 1981
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