Boulder Computer Maven Newsletter

Boulder Computer Maven Newsletter - September 2010

Dear Friends,

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 Saving Money on Computer Use and More About the "I Was Mugged" E-mail Fraud.

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

Saving Money on Computer Use

Here are some easy ways to save money when you buy computer equipment:

Buy computers and computer accessories on sale at local stores. Computer and office supply stores like Best Buy, Office Depot, and Office Max usually have weekly sales. Look at their Sunday newspaper ads, or check the weekly ads on their web sites.

Buy online. You can often get lower prices, even after paying for shipping, at online retailers like Amazon.com, TigerDirect, Newegg, and Buy.com.

Buy cables at an electronics supply store. Did you just buy a printer, and now you need a USB cable to connect it to your computer? It's convenient to buy the cable at the same time that you buy the printer, but computer and office supply stores often charge outrageously high prices for cables. You can get much better prices at an electronics supply store, like J.B. Saunders at 4700 Sterling Drive in Boulder.

To save money on computer software:

Use a free antivirus program. New computers often come with a limited trial version of a paid antivirus program from a big company like Norton or McAfee. Un-install that program and install a good, free one like Microsoft Security Essentials or avast! Free Antivirus. If you have Comcast's Internet service, you can get the Norton Security Suite for free.
Don't buy programs that claim that they can improve your computer's performance. I've never seen a program that can make a noticeable difference. In particular, avoid programs that say that they can speed up your computer by cleaning the registry. Registry cleaners are worthless at best, and they can damage your computer and make it unusable.
Use free alternatives to Microsoft Office. People often send E-mail attachments containing files written by Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint. If you need to read those attachments but don't need to edit or create them, you don't have to buy Microsoft Office. You can install Microsoft's free Word Viewer, Excel Viewer, and PowerPoint Viewer programs. If you occasionally need to create very simple Office documents, you can use Microsoft's free Office Web Apps.

To save money on electricity:

Configure the computer's power settings to turn off the monitor when you haven't used the computer for a few minutes and to put the computer to sleep after a longer period of inactivity. Note that using a screen saver doesn't turn the monitor off and doesn't save any money.

More About the "I Was Mugged" E-mail Fraud

Here's more information about the "I Was Mugged" E-Mail fraud that I wrote about in my June newsletter, If you get such a message, don't reply to it by E-mail, because your friend won't see the reply. The criminals who broke into your friend's E-mail account will see it, and they'll intensify their efforts to trick you into sending them money. Call your friend on the phone.