Boulder Computer Maven Newsletter

Boulder Computer Maven Newsletter - January 2011

Dear Friends,

Happy New Year from Boulder Computer Maven! I hope that 2011 will be a wonderful year for you and your family.

This is my customer newsletter, containing information that I hope will help you use your computer more enjoyably, safely, and efficiently. This month's topics are Tips for Safe Internet Use and Buying a New Printer.

Previous newsletters are available on the newsletters page of the Boulder Computer Maven web site.

If you change your E-mail address, please send me your new one. If you don't want to receive this newsletter, let me know, and I'll remove your name from my mailing list.

If you have questions or comments or want to schedule an appointment, please call me at 303-444-8247.

Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd

Helping People Use Computers in Boulder for Over 25 Years

Tips for Safe Internet Use

These articles show how to protect yourself, your family, and your computer from common Internet hazards:

A Parents' Guide to Facebook - Understand Facebook and learn how to keep your children (and yourself) safe.

Learn how to recognize the 5 most common types of E-mail Scams - Protect yourself from E-mail scams that try to steal your money or your personal information.

Avoid scams that use the Microsoft name fraudulently - Protect yourself from scams that claim to be from Microsoft.

New scam tactic: Fake disk defraggers - You've probably heard of fake antivirus programs that claim that your computer is infected and prompt you to buy a worthless product. A new variation on that theme is fake disk maintenance and defragmenting programs that claim that your computer's hard disk has errors that they can fix.

6 rules for safer financial transactions online - Safeguard your online shopping, banking, and bill paying.

Hotmail: Tips to help protect your account - Good information that applies to other E-mail accounts, too.

Buying a New Printer

Is your old printer malfunctioning? It's probably less expensive to buy a new one than to repair the old one. In fact, new printers are now less expensive than ever, and they have more features, too. Here are some things to consider when buying a new printer:

Laser printers aren't just for big companies any more. There are inexpensive laser printers that are suitable for home and small office use.
Auto-duplex printing lets you print on both sides of the page automatically, saving money and trees.
With borderless printing, you can print a photo right to the edge of the paper, like a print from a professional photo lab.
A PictBridge connection lets you print pictures directly from a compatible digital camera, camcorder, or camera phone, without using a computer.
A printer with built-in wired or wireless networking capability doesn't have to be physically connected to a computer. You can put the printer anywhere in your home or office and print to it from any computer.
You can save money and desk space by buying an All-in-One printer that combines the functions of a printer, fax machine, photocopier, and scanner.
With an automatic document feeder, you can copy or scan multiple pages at a time.
Auto-duplex scanning lets you copy or scan both sides of a document, without having to turn it over manually.

Here are some current printer models with good features at reasonable prices:

Laser: Samsung ML-2525W, Brother HL-2140, HP LaserJet Pro P1102w
Inkjet: HP Officejet 6000 Wireless Printer, Canon PIXMA iP4820
Inkjet All-in-One: HP Officejet 4500 Wireless All-in-One, Canon PIXMA MX870, Brother MFC-495CW