Spyware
programs are installed on your computer, usually without your
knowledge, by criminals using the Internet. Spyware can send your
personal information to the criminals to help them steal your
identity. It can let them take remote control of your computer
and use it to attack other computers and send spam, viruses, and
pornography to other people on the Internet. For more
information, see my web page Protecting
Your Computer From Spyware.
Here are some signs
of spyware. Please contact me immediately for expert spyware
removal service if they appear:
- Your computer runs very slowly, hangs,
crashes frequently, or won't shut down normally.
- Your computer spontaneously dials out and
connects to the Internet.
- When you try to visit a web site, your web
browser takes you to a different site.
- Your home page changes unexpectedly, or
undesired toolbars appear in your web browser.
- Undesired windows open on the screen,
advertising fraudulent or illegal products.
Keeping
Your Computer Spyware-Free
Internet criminals are continually finding new ways to infect computers
with spyare. After I've removed spyware from your computer, it's
up to you to perform regular updates and scans to keep your computer
spyware-free. I recommend twice a week initially. If no new
spyware appears after two weeks, go to once a week.
I've written some web pages to help you help yourself. Read and
follow the
instructions for using
Spyware
Blaster,
Ad-Aware
SE Personal, and
Spybot Search &
Destroy to remove new spyware and prevent further infection.
Computers and computer accessories can use a lot of electrical
power.
Here are some ways to save power, reduce your electric bill, and help
the environment:
- Configure your computer's power settings to automatically turn
off the
monitor after a period of inactivity. I've set mine to turn off
after
15 minutes. To make this setting in Windows 95, 98, or Me, click
Start
> Settings > Control Panel > Power Management. In
Windows XP,
click Start > Control Panel > Performance and Maintenance >
Power Options. Note that using a screen saver doesn't save any
power.
- Turn off printers, scanners, and other accesssories when you're
not using them.
- If you don't use your computer every day, turn it off when you're
not using it.
What if you use your computer every day -- should you leave it running
all the time or turn it off after each use? There's no definitive
answer to this question. Turning it off saves power, but turning
it on and off frequently can stress the electrical circuits and can
cause premature failures. My rule of thumb is not to turn a
computer on and off more than once a day.
Doing
More with Outlook Express E-Mail
Microsoft's Outlook Express
E-mail program is built into every Windows computer. Here are
some features that it offers that can help you and your family do more
with E-mail:
- Multiple Identities - Everyone in the family can have
individualized folders and settings. You can put a password on
your identity so that only you can see your E-mail messages.
- Multiple Accounts - If you have more than one E-mail account
(e.g.
home, school, business, family), you can send and receive messages for
all of
them.
- Folders - Create folders and sort your messages into folders
based on criteria that you define.
- Message Rules - Automatically sort incoming messages into
folders,
based on the subject, sender, size, specific words in the
message body, or the account that received them.
- Multiple Computers - Read the same E-mail messages on multiple
computers. That's handy if you use a desktop computer at home and
a laptop computer when traveling.
Other
E-Mail Programs
Here
are some E-mail programs that do everything that Outlook Express
does and more:
Mozilla Thunderbird,
Netscape
Mail,
AOL Communicator,
Eudora. All of them
have built-in spam filtering, which
automatically puts undesired commercial E-mail messages into a Spam or
Junk folder where they're easy to review and delete all at once.
I can show you how to use these programs and can copy your existing
E-mail accounts, messages, and address books to them from Outlook
Express.
I use Mozilla Thunderbird as my main E-mail program. You must
have an AOL account to use AOL Communicator, which also lets you AOL
E-mail and multiple POP3 E-mail accounts. Eudora's spam filtering
is only available
in the paid version.
Google Mail
Google, the Internet search company, has
created an unusual and innovative free web-based E-mail service called
Gmail.
The service is currently in a testing period and isn't available to the
general public. Please contact me if you'd like to try
Gmail. I've been testing it for several months and can get you an
account.