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Kevin's Tech Tips

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Kevin's Tech Tips september2007

By Kevin McBride

direcway@the1solution.com
www.the1solution.com
(716)926-8531 Fax

September 2007

Can I remove my user information from Windows Messenger?

QUESTION:
I used Windows Messenger on a Windows XP computer at work. I notice that when I logged on, my user name is now displayed in the list of Windows Messenger users. That was all well and good, but now I'm going to be sharing this computer with other people and I'd prefer that information not be there for them to see. Is there a way I can remove my user name from the list? Thanks. - Jordan P.

ANSWER:
Yes, you can delete your user name from the list that Windows Messenger saves. How to do it depends on whether the computer is a member of a workgroup or a domain. Here's how:
Click Start | Control Panel.
Click User Accounts.
On a workgroup computer, click your user account in the list. Under Related Tasks, click Manage my Network Passwords. Select the user account in the Stored User Names and Passwords box and click Remove.
On a domain computer, click the Advanced tab, click Manage Passwords, and in Stored Users and Passwords, select the user account and click Remove.
Click OK.
Click Close.
Now your user name shouldn't appear in the list in Windows Messenger.

XP stops responding at the Welcome Screen

If your computer stops responding (hangs up) when the Welcome screen is displayed after a reboot, and the keyboard and mouse stop working, you might receive the following message after you restart again: "System restart has been paused. Continue with system restart. Delete restoration data and proceed to system boot menu." This happens because the computer goes into hibernation and accesses a corrupted memory snapshot. For instructions on how to fix it, see KB article 294427 at
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/294427/en-us

Kevin's Tech Tips august2007

By Kevin McBride

direcway@the1solution.com
www.the1solution.com
(716)926-8531 Fax

August 2007

Can I remove my user information from Windows Messenger?

QUESTION:
I used Windows Messenger on a Windows XP computer at work. I notice that when I logged on, my user name is now displayed in the list of Windows Messenger users. That was all well and good, but now I'm going to be sharing this computer with other people and I'd prefer that information not be there for them to see. Is there a way I can remove my user name from the list? Thanks. - Jordan P.

ANSWER:
Yes, you can delete your user name from the list that Windows Messenger saves. How to do it depends on whether the computer is a member of a workgroup or a domain. Here's how:
Click Start | Control Panel.
Click User Accounts.
On a workgroup computer, click your user account in the list. Under Related Tasks, click Manage my Network Passwords. Select the user account in the Stored User Names and Passwords box and click Remove.
On a domain computer, click the Advanced tab, click Manage Passwords, and in Stored Users and Passwords, select the user account and click Remove.
Click OK.
Click Close.
Now your user name shouldn't appear in the list in Windows Messenger.

How to Find Out if your Processor is Overheating

Here's a handy little free utility that will read the sensors built into your motherboard and warn you if your processor is overheating. It works on all Windows operating systems from 9.x to XP (we haven't tried it on Vista yet):
http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file/fid,7309-order,1-page,1-c,alldownloads/description.html

Kevin's Tech Tips june2007

By Kevin McBride

direcway@the1solution.com
www.the1solution.com
(716)926-8531 Fax

June/July 2007

How to turn on the Bluetooth discovery option

If you can't get your Bluetooth device, such as a BT headphone, to connect to your XP computer after applying service pack 2, it may be because the discovery option is turned off. This is also an issue with XP Tablet PC edition 2005. This option is turned off by default for security reasons. You have to turn on the discovery option to connect the device. Here's how:

1. Right click the Bluetooth icon in the notification area of the system tray.
2. Click Open Bluetooth Settings.
3. Click the Options tab.
4. Click to check the checkbox labeled "Turn discovery on."
5. Click Apply.

If you want other Bluetooth devices to be able to connect to your computer, select "Allow Bluetooth devices to connect to this computer."

Note: If there is no Bluetooth icon in the notification area, click Start | Run and in the Run box type: bthprops.cpl, then click OK. You can turn discovery back off again after the device has created a connection to your computer, to prevent other devices from connecting without your knowledge.

How to change the picture on the Start menu

Note: this doesn't apply to XP computers that belong to a Windows domain. On non-domain systems, XP displays a photo on the Start menu that's associated with the logged on user account. You can set this photo through the User Accounts applet in Control Panel, but there's also another, faster way:

1. Click Start to open the Start menu.
2. Click on the picture itself. This opens the User Account settings option.
3. Choose a new picture from the ones displayed, or click Browse to use a picture located anywhere on your computer.

After you've changed the picture, close the User Accounts dialog box.

Kevin's Tech Tips may2007

By Kevin McBride

direcway@the1solution.com
www.the1solution.com
(716)926-8531 Fax

May 2007

How to Reinstall System Restore

The System Restore feature in Windows XP is a great one - but sometimes it quits working properly (or at all). In this case, you may need to reinstall it. Here's how:
1. Click Start | Run.
2. In the Run box, type %Windir%\INF. This should open your WINDOWS directory to the INF folder.
3. Find a file named SR.INF (if you have Explorer configured to hide common file extensions, it may display as SR).
4. Right click the SR.INF file and select Install. Windows may prompt you for your Windows installation source path. If you have service packs installed, point it to the %Windir%\ServicePackFiles folder.

After the System Restore files are reinstalled, restart Windows.

Important note: this process will remove any existing system restore points.

What happened to the file names in Thumbnail view?

QUESTION:
Help! When I view the My Pictures folder in thumbnail view, I see the thumbnails of the pictures but the file names aren't shown with them. I'm sure the file names used to be displayed in this view. What did I do, and how do I undo it? - Joan L.

ANSWER:
Change to a different view, such as List or Details, and then hold down the Shift key while you click View | Thumbnails to switch to the Thumbnail view. Your file names should be back. You can toggle between displaying or not displaying them this way.

Kevin's Tech Tips april2007

By Kevin McBride

direcway@the1solution.com
www.the1solution.com
(716)926-8531 Fax

April 2007

Why am I getting all this gibberish-filled email?

QUESTION:
Recently I've been getting a lot of weird email messages. They aren't exactly spam - at least they aren't trying to sell anything that I can see and they don't contain any links for me to click. They're just full of gibberish, what appears to be random words and phrases. Who in the world is sending these things and why? -- Genie L.

ANSWER:
You're right: they aren't spam, but they are sent by spammers. The point isn't to get you to buy anything, but to get you to mark the unwanted messages as spam in order to confuse your Bayesian spam filters. Most anti-spam programs now use some form of Bayesian filtering - this is a way of using statistical methods to classify messages as spam (or not). The software "learns" to recognize what you consider to be spam based on the messages that you mark as spam. It's a great idea and works well - except when the filters are "poisoned" by lots of messages that contain large amounts of random words and phrases that's likely to appear in legitimate messages.

Bayesian poisoning messages sometimes consist of random words and sometimes a block of text from a literary work or the like. In either case, the goal is to confuse the filters and render them useless.

It's also possible that even though they don't contain links, some of the gibberish messages may contain web beacons. These are tiny, transparent (and thus invisible) graphics files placed in HTML email messages. When you open the message, your email client downloads the graphic from the sender's server. This lets the spammer know that the email address is a "live" one.

How to Start the Shared Folder Wizard

The XP Shared Folder Wizard lets you create one or multiple shared folders. The quickest way to start it is to click Start | Run and type shrpubw.exe.

Kevin's Tech Tips march2007

By Kevin McBride

direcway@the1solution.com
www.the1solution.com
(716)926-8531 Fax

March 2007

How to recover from a corrupted registry

If the Windows XP registry becomes corrupted and this prevents Windows from starting, you may be able to recover your data by using Guided Help to automatically perform the steps for you. You can install and use Guided Help if you're logged on as an administrator. To download the Guided Help software and for information on how to use it, see KB article 307545 at
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307545/en-us

How to make XP launch Windows Explorer instead of IE from the Accessories menu

We've had a couple of instances where readers tell us that when they click Programs | Accessories | Windows Explorer, instead of launching Windows Explorer, Internet Explorer starts. That happens because the path in the program shortcut is incorrect. Here's how you can fix it:

1. Click Start | All Programs | Accessories
2. Right click Windows Explorer
3. Select Properties
4. Click the Shortcut tab
5. In the "Target" field, type: %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe
This also affects what program launches when you hit the Windows key + E.

Kevin's Tech Tips february2007

By Kevin McBride

direcway@the1solution.com
www.the1solution.com
(716)926-8531 Fax

February 2007

How to keep tabs on the mouse pointer

Sometimes it's difficult to find the pointer arrow on certain desktop backgrounds, especially if you have vision problems. You can make it easier to keep up with the pesky pointer by following these steps:

1. Click Start | Control Panel.
2. In Classic View, click the Mouse applet. In Category view, click Printers and Other Hardware, then click Mouse.
3. Click the Pointer Options tab.
4. Check the box that says "Show location of pointer when I press the CTRL key."
5. Click OK.
6. Now when you hit the Control key, an animated circle will show you the location of your pointer.

What's a good free anti-virus?

QUESTION:
I've been using Norton/Symantec AV products for years, but I'm really getting annoyed with their price increases and their incompatibility with other programs. I'm planning to upgrade to Vista, so I'm looking for an AV program that's either a lot less expensive or preferably free. Plus, I just got my elderly mom a computer so she can keep in touch with her kids and grandkids via email and she can't afford the high prices charged by Norton. Can you help? - Kay L.

ANSWER:
My favorite free AV is AVG, which I've been using on some of our secondary computers for a couple of years. Earlier this month, GRISOFT (the maker of AVG) announced that Microsoft is going to make the AVG Free Edition available for Windows Vista via the Windows Security Center. The commercial version is also available. See it here:
http://grisoft.com/doc/39275/lng/us/tpl/tpl01

Kevin's Tech Tips

By Kevin McBride

direcway@the1solution.com
www.the1solution.com
(716)926-8531 Fax

January 2007

How to keep Outlook Express from adding names to your Contacts list automatically

Follow these steps to keep Outlook Express from adding names to your Contacts list automatically:

1. Click Tools, Options. Outlook Express shows you the Options dialog box.

2. On the Send tab, deselect the Automatically Put People I Reply to in My Address Book check box.

3. Click OK.

You probably want to go through your Address Book and get rid of the duplicates. Click Tools, Address Book, and be braced for some hard work.

Using Keyboard Shortcuts in Excel

You can forget all about those darned tab scrolling buttons and sheet tabs in Excel and just go back and forth through the sheets in a workbook with your keyboard. To move to the next worksheet in a workbook, press Ctrl+PgDn. To move to the previous worksheet in a workbook, press Ctrl+PgUp. The nice thing about using these keyboard shortcuts is that they work whether or not the next or previous sheet tab is currently displayed in the workbook window!

Kevin's Tech Tips

By Kevin McBride

direcway@the1solution.com
www.the1solution.com
(716)926-8531 Fax

December 2006

Reset Excel's Standard Width
You can use the Standard Width command to set all the columns in an Excel worksheet to a new uniform width. (The default width is 8.43 characters.) To do so, go to the menu bar and choose Format, Column, Standard Width. The Standard Width dialog box appears. Replace the default 8.43 in the

Standard Column Width text box with your new width (in characters), and then click OK or press Enter.

Note that when you set a new standard width for the columns of your worksheet, this new width doesn't affect any columns whose width you've previously adjusted either with AutoFit or in the Column Width dialog box.

Insert a Watermark in Word
In a Word document, you can add a watermark to each page. A watermark is a pale image or set of words that appears behind text on each page.

To create a text watermark choose Format, Background, Printed Watermark. You see the Printed Watermark dialog box. Next, click the Text Watermark option button and type a word or two in the Text text box (or choose an AutoText entry from the drop-down list). Choose a font, size, color, and layout for the words. If you deselect the Semitransparent check box, you do so at your peril because the watermark words may be too dark on the page. Click OK in the Printed Watermark dialog box to see your watermark.

To tinker with your watermark or remove it, choose Format, Background, Printed Watermark. Change the settings in the Printed Watermark dialog box. To remove the watermark, click the No Watermark option button

Kevin's Tech Tips

By Kevin McBride

direcway@the1solution.com
www.the1solution.com
(716)926-8531 Fax

November 2006

How to log onto your XP computer when you've forgotten the password

We often get frantic pleas for help from computer users who have forgotten their passwords. If you forget the password to your XP user account, you may still be able to get back in. The easiest way is to use a password reset disk, but if you didn't create one, there's still hope:
Log onto the computer with the administrator account (or have someone who has the administrator password perform these steps).
Click Start | Run.
In the Run box, type control userpasswords2
Click OK.
Click the user account for which you've forgotten the password.
Click Reset Password.
Enter a new password, confirm it, and click OK.
There are a few caveats to keep in mind before using this procedure. With XP Pro, you'll no longer to be able to access encrypted files or encrypted email messages. With XP Home, or with Pro in a workgroup, you'll need to boot into safe mode before logging on with the administrator account.

What happened to the file names in Thumbnail view?

QUESTION: Help! When I view the My Pictures folder in thumbnail view, I see the thumbnails of the pictures but the file names aren't shown with them. I'm sure the file names used to be displayed in this view. What did I do, and how do I undo it? - Joan L.

ANSWER: Change to a different view, such as List or Details, and then hold down the Shift key while you click View | Thumbnails to switch to the Thumbnail view. Your file names should be back. You can toggle between displaying or not displaying them this way.

Kevin's Tech Tips

By Kevin McBride

direcway@the1solution.com
www.the1solution.com
(716)926-8531 Fax

October 2006

How to remove invalid entries from Add/Remove Programs

If you use the Add/Remove Programs applet in Control to remove a program, but there are still references to the program in the Currently Installed Programs dialog box, you can edit the registry to remove these invalid entries. As always, be careful when using the registry editor as incorrect use can render your computer unbootable. For step by step instructions on how to perform this registry edit, see KB article 310750 at

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310750/en-us

IE 7 readiness toolkit

Many of us have been using IE 7 in its various beta incarnations for many months, but it's set to be released in final form within the next month, and if you create web sites, you'll want to make sure they work properly with the new browser - especially since it's planned to be an automatic update. You can get the IE 7 Readiness Toolkit to help you do that. For more info and the free download, see
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=D13EE10D-2718-47F1-AA86-1E32D526383D&displaylang=en

Kevin's Tech Tips kevin

By Kevin McBride

direcway@the1solution.com
www.the1solution.com
(716)926-8531 Fax

September 2006

This monthis Kevin answers some more concerns that have come up with the installation of Microsoft's Service Pack 2 (SP2).

How to Configure the Popup Blocker in XP SP2

When you install Service Pack 2 for Windows XP, it adds a popup blocker to Internet Explorer, which is turned on by default. You can configure its settings to allow popups on certain web sites or block all popup windows. You can also configure IE to play a sound to notify you when a popup window is blocked. KB article 843016 tells you how to configure the popup blocker to suit your needs.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/843016/en-us

No response when you click a Quick Launch button in XP SP2

If you have a Windows XP computer with SP2 installed that is also running Outlook 2000 or Outlook 2002, you may find that when you click the Start button or any button on the Quick Launch bar, nothing happens for a long time. There is a hotfix available to address this problem. You'll need to call Microsoft Product Support Services (PSS) to get it. For more info, see KB article 899815 at:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/899815/en-us

Kevin's Tech Tips august2006

By Kevin McBride

direcway@the1solution.com
www.the1solution.com
(716)926-8531 Fax
August 2006

Battery drains too quickly on SP2 laptops

If you've installed Windows XP Service Pack 2 on your portable computer, you may find that the battery goes down more quickly than you expected after you unplug the AC power. This can happen because the computer isn't able to go into the ACPI processor idle state because of a component of the USB 2.0 driver. There's an update that you can download and apply to fix the problem. To find out more and get the update, see KB article 918005 at:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/918005/en-us

Incorrect battery information on laptop computer

If the total battery power remaining and other information displayed on the power meter tab after you resume from a suspended or hibernated state on your portable computer, or the computer stays in low battery hibernation mode even though the battery is fully charged, it may be because you replaced the battery with one of a higher or lower capacity after putting the computer in suspension or hibernation. There is a hotfix for the problem, but Microsoft recommends that you wait for the next service pack unless you have a special need to correct it. You can read more about how to get the fix in KB article 889816 at

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/889816/en-us

Kevin's Tech Tips july2006
By Kevin McBride

direcway@the1solution.com
www.the1solution.com
(716)926-8531 Fax

July_2006

How to protect yourself from spoofed Web sites

A spoofed site is one that appears to belong to a particular organization or individual but really belongs to someone else. Spoofed sites hide their true identities in several ways, including by disguising their URLs. There are ways that you can protect yourself from spoofed sites (and the malicious hyperlinks that may lead to them). Get the full scoop in KB article 833786 at

http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=kb;en-us;833786&spid=2073&sid=global

How can I better organize my Outlook messages?

QUESTION:
I get lots of email, and Outlook serves as a storage place for all sorts of information that I get in the mail. I've created separate folders for messages from mailing lists or messages from certain people, with rules to send those messages to their folders when they come in. This helps, but I feel as if there's more I could be doing to organize all this information so I can find it better when I need it. Any suggestions? - Cary T.

ANSWER:
I, too, use Outlook as my primary user interface. Creating folders for different senders is a great first step, but it's only a first step. You can, of course, create subfolders within those folders (for instance, to hold mail on different topics from that specific mailing list or person, or mail sent during a particular month. So you have a folder named Cary and within it, subfolders named March 2006, April 2006 and so on, or you have a folder named IT Discussion List and within it subfolders labeled Security, Email, Web Server, etc.).

Another great organizing tool in Outlook 2003 is the flagging option. You can mark different messages with different colored flags to indicate "reply this week" or "follow up by phone" or whatever you want to do with the message. You can create a Flags toolbar to name the differently colored flags so you'll always know what each color means. And you can use rules to automatically flag messages, too. For instance, you might have a folder labeled Family and instead of making a subfolder for messages from Mom, you can create a rule that automatically flags her messages with a green flag so they stand out from the rest of the family messages.

Kevin's Tech Tips
By Kevin McBride

June_2006
direcway@the1solution.com
www.the1solution.com
(716)926-8531 Fax

How to automatically log on to Windows XP

I often get questions from people asking how to bypass the Windows logon screen and have the computer automatically log on with their user account each time they boot up. Although this isn't recommended in a business or other shared computer environment, if you're the only person who has physical access to your system you may want to speed up the boot process by setting up auto logon.

Note that this won't work if the computer is a member of a domain (typically a business computer).
First click Start | Control Panel and select User Accounts.
Click "Change the way users log on or off."
Click "Use the Welcome screen for fast and easy logon" and then click OK.

Now remove the password from the user account you want to use to log on automatically, by clicking the user account in User Accounts in Control Panel and then clicking "Remove my password."
Type your current password in the box, then click "Remove password."

How to automatically close non-responding programs

It can get old: a program hangs and stops responding, and you open up the Task Manager and click End Program (sometimes several times before the uncooperative program finally shuts down). Why not just have Windows close programs that quit responding so you won't have to? You can do it with a registry tweak. As usual, we recommend that you back up the registry before making any changes.

Here are the steps:
In your favorite registry editor, navigate to the following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
in the right pane, right click the entry AutoEndTasks.
Select Modify.
In the Value Data field, change the value to 1.
Click OK, and close the registry editor.

If you want to change Windows back to the default behavior (not closing unresponsive programs, just repeat the process and change the value back to 0). You'll need to restart the system for the change to take effect.

Kevin's Tech Tips
By Kevin McBride

April 2006
direcway@the1solution.com
www.the1solution.com
(716)926-8531 Fax

Can I rename multiple files?

QUESTION:
OK - I give up. Frequently I want to be able to rename a bunch of files in the same directory changing part of the file name but retaining part of the file name. For example, uploading a lot of pictures from a digital camera leaves you with something like:
IMG_001.jpg
IMG_002.jpg
IMG_003.jpg

I would like to rename them to something like:
Vacation-001.jpg
Vacation-002.jpg
Vacation-003.jpg

You used to be able to do this at the DOS command line with wild card commands, etc (I think). How do you do it in XP? - Stephen N.

ANSWER:
Select the files you want to rename using the CTRL key. Then press F2 and type the new name. All the files will be named with the new name and a number in parentheses. For instance, if you select all and type in the name "Vacation," the files will be named Vacation(1).jpg, Vacation(2).jpg and so on.

Another way that gives you more flexibility and options is to download a little utility called Batch File Re-namer. It's a free download and you can get it at:

http://www.softforall.com/Utilities/FileDisk/Batch_File_Renamer09040204.htm

Can't see graphics in email after installing SP2

QUESTION:
I have Windows XP and I use Outlook Express for email. I installed Service Pack 2 (yes, finally) and now I can't see pictures in HTML email messages. There's a box with a red X where the pictures are supposed to be. Can you help? - Julie P.

ANSWER:
When you install SP2, it enables a number of new security features, including blocking of images and other external content in HTML mail. This is designed to prevent spammers from sending you messages with images, including Web beacons which are small images that, when downloaded to your computer, let the sender know that the HTML mail has been viewed.

You can turn this feature off. Here's how:
Click Start | All Programs | Outlook Express.
Click the Tools menu and select Options.
Click the Security tab.
Uncheck the box labeled "Block images and other external content in HTML e-mail."
Click OK.

Kevin's Tech Tips
By Kevin McBride

March 2006
direcway@the1solution.com
www.the1solution.com
(716)926-8531 Fax

These tips have nothing to do with diabetes except that Kevin McBride is a person with diabetes and has volunteered to share some of his expertise. We hope you find them helpful. Read Kevin's Bio

Kevin's Tech Tips
By Kevin McBride
March 2006
direcway@the1solution.com
www.the1solution.com
(716)926-8531 Fax

How to Copy Information from a Corrupted User Profile to a New Profile

Sometimes your user profile may get corrupted, but you want a way to move your files and settings to a new profile. First, you need to create a new user profile. Here's how:

Log on as Administrator.
Click Start | Control Panel.
Click User Accounts.
In XP Pro, click the Advanced tab, then the Advanced button. Click the Users folder in the left pane of the console. Click the Action menu and select New User. Enter the information for the new user, and click Create.

In XP Home, click Create a New Account under Pick a Task. Type a name and click Next. Select the account type and click Create Account.

Next, you need to copy the files to the new profile:

Log on with a different account (not the one you're copying the files from or to).
Open Windows Explorer and click Tools | Folder Options | View. Click the checkbox for Show Hidden Files and Folders and uncheck the box for Hide Protected Operating System Files. Click OK.

Find the files for the old profile under Documents and Settings\. (This is the user name for the old profile).

Hold the CTRL key down and select all the files and subfolders in the folder except: Ntuser.dat, Ntuser.dat.log and Ntuser.ini. Do NOT select those files.
Click the Edit menu and click Copy.

Go to the Documents and Settings\ folder for the new profile. This will be the name that you entered when you created the new profile.
Click Edit and Paste.

You'll need to log off and then log back on with the new user account and the settings will be applied to your new profile.

Troubleshoot Windows Drivers

Having problems with device drivers in Windows XP? These files are a common source of trouble, but XP includes a tool that you can use to track down and fix those pesky driver problems. It's a command line utility called Driver Verifier and it will analyze all the drivers on your system.

For information about what it does and how to use it, see KB article 244617:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;244617

Kevin's Tech Tips
By Kevin McBride
direcway@the1solution.com
www.the1solution.com
(716)926-8531 Fax
February 2006

How to Recognize "Phishing" Scams

Citibank/CitiCards is working with law enforcement, industry organizations and governments overseas to help shut down "phishing" scams - emails that purport to be from a bank or other trusted institution in an attempt to fool people into entering their personal account information on a Web site that belongs to the scammer. Here are some tips they've provided to help you recognize "phishers" and protect yourself from their scams:

Look for your "personal header" on all emails. For your protection, effective immediately every email Citi sends will include your first name, last name and the last 4 digits of your account number at the top of the email in a "Security Zone". Be suspicious of emails claiming to be from Citi that do not include this information.

Never type account information into a pop-up window, even if it looks legitimate. Legitimate companies don't request account information through pop-up windows.
Don't respond to emails asking you to verify information. Most financial institutions do not ever send email asking you to verify information. If they have an issue with your records, they contact you another way.

Be suspicious of grammatical or spelling errors. These are usually indications of a fraudulent message.

Sharing E-mail Between Two PCs

Question: This one has bothered me for a long time. My main PC goes by ethernet to the router. My laptop goes by wireless connection to the router. The router then connects to a cable modem. How should e-mail (Outlook Express) be set up to be shared by both PCs? - J.E.

Answer: It really doesn't matter what type of media (Ethernet cable or wireless) each computer is using, as long as they can both access the Internet. You should be able to log on to your e-mail account and check or read mail from either computer, after configuring your account name, password, and mail server information into OE.

What does make a difference is the type of e-mail server you have. If it's a POP3 server, when you check your mail it will be downloaded to the computer you're using to check it and deleted from the server. That means that even though you save the mail, you won't be able to go back and read those saved messages if you log on with the other computer.

You could set up OE to leave a copy of the messages on the server (You do this by going to Tools | Accounts, selecting the mail account and clicking Properties, then checking the box on the Advanced tab that says "Leave a copy of messages on server"). The problem with that is that every time you check mail on either computer, those same messages will be downloaded again. To workaround this, you can have OE remove the messages from the server after a certain number of days, or remove them when you delete them from the Deleted Items folder, but you're still likely to either miss downloading some of the messages to one or the other computer, or get the same messages downloaded more than once on the same computer.

If you have an IMAP mail server, you won't have this problem because the messages aren't downloaded to your local machine. They stay on the server and you just use OE to read them, delete them from the server, etc. This means whenever you log onto your mail account, you see all of your past messages no matter what computer you use. The downside is that since the messages aren't downloaded to the local computer, you can't read them offline (unless you've saved them to the local disk yourself).

If you need to use different computers to access your mail, IMAP works better than POP3, but you don't usually have a choice about this. It depends on what type of server your ISP or corporate IT department uses. ISPs more usually use POP3, and private organizations are more likely to use IMAP.

Kevin's Tech Tips
By Kevin McBride
direcway@the1solution.com
www.the1solution.com
(716)926-8531 Fax
January 2006

Are Your Phone Records for Sale?
Whether you have a cell phone, a land line, or both, someone who knows your phone number may be able to find out who you've been calling. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, there are several online services that sell phone records they've obtained (sometimes by deception) from the phone companies to anyone who asks, for a fee. Even being an FBI agent doesn't protect you; the agency discovered that one of their agents' cell phone records were easily obtainable for $160. Some federal legislators are calling for new laws to criminalize this, but at the moment it's legal. Read more about it here: http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-privacy05.html

Help! My Screen's Upside Down!

Question: This probably sounds like a stupid question, but recently my brother came to visit and used my computer. After he left, I found the monitor display was upside down! I've tried everything I could think of to fix this and nothing works. I'm getting so desperate I'm actually considering turning the monitor over physically. NOT the fix I want. Can you help? - Allison P.

Answer: Sounds like your brother either 1) decided to play a little trick on you or 2) inadvertently hit the wrong key combo (more on that in a minute), causing the screen to rotate, didn't know how to get it back the right way and was afraid to tell you. Luckily, it's usually easy to correct. Some video cards support rotating the screen 180 degrees. If rotation is enabled on your card, you can turn the display upside down by pressing CTRL+ALT+the down arrow. Setting it right is just as easy: press CTRL+ALT+the up arrow key.

To prevent accidentally rotating the screen in the future, right click an empty spot on the desktop and click Properties (or select Display in Control Panel). In the Display properties dialog box, click the Settings tab and the Advanced button. Click through these tabs. Depending on what video card you have, you may see a checkbox to Enable Rotation. Uncheck the box and then click Apply.

Kevin's Tech Tips
December 2005

How to Disable the Local Administrator Account

Because the built in Administrator account is a default account in Windows XP, hackers already know half of the two things they need to know (the account name and password) to log onto your XP computer with administrative privileges. For better security, you can create another user account and give it administrative privileges, then disable the local administrator account. Here's how (don't forget to make the other account an administrator first):

Log on with an administrative account, either the built in Administrator or the new account you've given admin privileges.

Right click My Computer.
Click Manage to open the Computer Management console.
In the left console pane, expand the Local Users and Groups node.
Click Users.
In the right details pane, double click Administrator to open its properties box.
On the General tab, select Account Is Disabled.
Click OK.
Close the Computer Management console.
The change won't take effect until you log off and then log back on.

Google Desktop Application Can Be Hacked Into Through IE Vulnerability

An Israeli hacker has discovered a way to steal users' information on computers that have Google Desktop installed, by using a vulnerability in Internet Explorer. First, though, the victim has to visit a malicious Web site. Read more about it here:
http://www.wxpnews.com/rd/rd.cfm?id=051206SE-Google_Desktop

Kevin's Tech Tips
November 2005

Office How-to: Filter your Outlook Contacts Folder
Need to filter your Outlook Contacts list so you can send holiday greetings to a selected set of recipients? The trick is to tag Contacts with categories. To view the existing Outlook categories, select an item and choose Edit/Categories to open the Categories dialog box. If you don't see the category you need, just click in the text box labeled "Items belong to these categories," type a category, and click Add to List. Repeat this step to add any other categories you need.

To assign categories to contacts, open the Contacts folder and select all the contacts to be assigned the category (hold down Ctrl and click each contact to select multiple contacts). Choose Edit/Categories. Place a check beside the desired category and click OK.

Create a custom filtered view for the category: Choose View/Arrange By/Current View/Define Views. Click New, enter a view name, and click OK.

Click the Filter button, the More Choices tab, the Categories button, and select each of the categories to include in the view. Click OK three times, then Apply View. You'll now see only those items in the selected categories.

The key to successfully performing a mail merge with just a selection of contacts is to first filter the view to show only the target contacts. The keys to achieving that view are categories and filtering.

How to Create Connection Objects in Stored User Names and Passwords
XP has a feature that makes it easier for you to access resources that require credentials that aren't the same as your logon credentials. This feature is called Stored User Names and Passwords. This can be used for logging on to password protected Web sites, VPN connections to your company network, resources in a domain, etc. Keys, also called connection objects, are created automatically when you connect to a server with alternate credentials and select to have Windows remember your password.

You can also create keys manually. Here's how (these instructions are for computers that are not domain members):

Click Start | Control Panel and select User Accounts.
Click Related Tasks.
Click Manage My Network Passwords. You'll see a list of the stored user names and passwords.
Click Add.

In the Logon Information Properties dialog box, type the name of the server or share to which you want to connect in the Server field.

Type the name of the user account for that resource in the User Name field.
Type the password for that account in the Password field.
Click OK.
Click Close.

Kevin's Tech Tips
October 2005

How to Get Back the Ability to Make Pictures Smaller in Email

Windows XP, by default, gives you an option to reduce the size of photos that you attach to email messages in Outlook or Outlook Express, in order to decrease the file size. This is a handy feature if you send pictures from or to a computer that uses a slow dialup connection. Sometimes, however, you may find that the option no longer appears. You can usually fix this by registering a DLL file. Here's how:

Click Start | Run.
Type cmd to open a command window.
At the command prompt, type regsvr32 shimgvw.dll.
Press [Enter].
Close the command window

Kevin McBride's Bio
direcway@the1solution.com
www.the1solution.com
(716)926-8531 Fax

At present, I install broadband internet services, mostly using Direcway High Speed thru a satellite. Also installing DirecTV systems.

On the side, I work with individuals and businesses with their PC issues. Examples would be: Networking, Accessibility, Upgrades, Consultations or just plain helping with the question "How do I do this?" More often than not, this is the question. And most of their answers when I am done is "Wow, that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be!"

Occasionally there are issues I really have to look into or contact someone else to help me figure out a cure. I have quite a few peers that can help.

I have been in the Computer business for over 15 yrs. I enjoy working with computers and learning from every job I do.

I also am a diabetic. When I learned of this in 1998, I was way over weight. I was put on metformin in a small amount and gradually increased to 2g a day. This did not go well with me. Digestive issues. I was determined to lose the weight and try to control my diabetes. Now I control my diabetes through my eating habits. I cannot call it dieting, as I still eat what I want to. I just watch what I intake.
Since that day in 1998 I have dropped over 100lbs. I am still considered a bit overweight according to nutritionists, but I can deal with it. My levels are well within acceptable and I even feel a whole lot better.

When I found that I had diabetes, my wife was 8 months pregnant. I had decided then that I wanted to be around for my child and I am still here. That's a good thing! Ask Andy, My daughter is a wonderful child!