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One
on One Computer Consultants (www.1on1cc.com)
Finally
computer manufacturers have realized that most consumers can do without the
trial software and Internet Service Provider (ISP) offers that are pre-installed
on new computers. For years computer manufacturers have be subsidizing the cost
of making systems by loading them with various forms of “crapware”. Now,
DELL is offering an option, on some models, to eliminate the installation of
trial software. Gateway is including just one program in each category of trial
software. Computer manufacturers once thought that they could subsidize the
whole cost of a PC through a combination of advertising and bounties from
ISP’s. Too many consumer complaints about poor performance and annoying
reminders have made the manufacturers look at other options. Virus/Spyware/Spam Warning & Updates
Uninstall your Anti-Virus Software That’s
right, as much as I preach about having anti-virus software installed and
up-to-date, I’m suggesting that you remove certain anti-virus software. In
particular, products like 2006/2007 Norton Anti-Virus (Internet Security) and
2006/2007 McAfee. For the past few years, these products have become inflated
and cumbersome which can rob your system of performance. Even opening your other
computer applications like Microsoft Word takes a lot longer with these products
installed. Don’t
misunderstand me, you should have some anti-virus software installed and updated
with the latest virus definitions database. There are many free products like
AVG, PCTools, Clam, Avast, Avira, and more, so there’s no good reason not to
have up-to-date anti-virus software on your system. (There are links to some of
these products on my Download page). There are some limitations to the
“free” versions of some of these programs and you should only have one
anti-virus program installed at any time. Storm Worm Virus Email
users should be aware of this circulating virus which comes with a “ZIP”
file attachment full of malicious code. The message usually contains some
reference to “Love” or “Worm Alert”. Clicking on the executable file
will install a “rootkit” with anti-security measures, which masks the code
from virus scans and shuts down some security programs. Most anti-virus
companies have responded to the circulation of the worm. You should check with
your anti-virus software manufacturer for the specific steps to check and remove
the virus. For
more on this latest threat and other malicious software, visit the US-Cert site
at: "Free" Software Downloads
Spyware Terminator This is
a complete spyware removal product which includes an anti-virus option (Clam
Anti-virus). The Spyware protection program is free for private and commercial
use. It contains “real-time” protection, various manual & scheduled
scanning options, safe quarantine of suspected files, and automatic updates. I
replaced Microsoft’s Windows Defender with this application. I’m still
running Lavasoft’s Ad-Aware Personal SE and SpyBot Search & Destroy (both
are available through my download page). OpenOffice.org 2.2 This is
“open source”, free to use office applications comparable, is not better,
than Microsoft Office Suite of products. It includes a word processor,
spreadsheet application, multimedia presentation creator, diagram/3D drawing
program, database interface, and a mathematical equation creator. It is a large
download (about 100 Meg), so be sure to check the system requirements before you
start your download. For more information, go to: ( http://www.openoffice.org/product/index.html
). Photobie 3.2 This is
a great photo/image editing program. It provides
an advanced screen capture tool, a simple GIF animation tool, and a photo
framing tool. Photobie integrates an image directory browser with batch
resize/rotate and full screen slide show features. It is also compatible with
Adobe Photoshop filter (.8BF) plug-ins, which means that our users can apply
thousands of free filters to their images. (You can do an Internet search for
these plug-ins. There seems to be a lot available.) Photobie is a .NET windows
application and requires NET Framework 1.0 or higher be installed (free from
Microsoft). For more information, go to: ( http://www.photobie.com/
). Tips & Tricks
Organizing/Renaming Photos/Files Do you
have a lot of photos or files that you would like to better organize? Well,
here’s a neat little trick for Windows XP users. Open the folder where your
photos or files are located. Highlight (Select) all the files that you want to
rename. Right-click on any of the selected files, left-click on “rename”,
type in the new name (with the proper extension), and press “Enter”. The
files will be renamed and assigned a sequential number. So if you wanted to
rename a group of wedding photos, select all the photos, right-click on any one
of them, rename them something like “Wedding.jpg” (without quotation marks),
and click on the “Enter” key. The photos will now be named, “Wedding.jpg.
Wedding(1).jpg, Wedding(2), and so on”. Installing New Software Whether
it’s “free” or purchased software, there are a few rules you should follow
when installing software. First, scan any “free” program you’re your
updated anti-virus software. Second, close all other programs and shut off your
screen saver. Third, install the software and restart your computer, even if it
isn’t suggested. Finally, run your updated anti-spyware software to check and
remove any third-party programs that may have been loaded. USB Flash Drives These
great little devices have virtually replaced floppy disks as storage devices.
There’s no moving parts, they have much more storage capacity, and have been
becoming more and more affordable. For a quick lesson on using these new
devices, go to the CNET TV web site at: ( http://www.cnettv.com/9710-1_53-26963.html?tag=nl.e415
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