As I mentioned in last month’s newsletter, Open Source software is becoming more popular in the computer world. Now, Microsoft has announced that they are developing a converter for documents saved in the OpenOffice Writer word processor. The native format for documents created in Writer is ODF. You can open and /or save a Writer document in Microsoft Word format (DOC), but not vice versa. Microsoft decided to create the converter because more and more government agencies are looking at the “free” OpenOffice Suite of programs as an alternative to the costly Microsoft Office and WordPerfect Suites.
Major anti-virus software makers are not happy with Microsoft’s decision to not release the core (kernel) code of their new operating system, “Vista”. The companies claim that without access to the “kernel”, it would be more difficult to develop anti-virus protection. Kaspersky Labs seems to disagree and is working with Microsoft in developing their new applications.
Many people are beginning to doubt whether having the newer anti-virus programs on their systems is really worth the loss of resources and increased “boot” time. McAfee seems to be going in the right direction, but Norton has a long way to go. For a look at how these programs, and other programs affect your system go to: http://www.thepcspy.com/articles/other/what_really_slows_windows_down/5
PayPal and eBay “Spoofing”
You may receive some email messages that “appear” to be from either PayPal or eBay requesting various actions regarding your account. Most of these bogus messages are designed to attempt to get your password and/or account information (termed “phishing”). The messages look very legitimate, but are far from it. If you just place your mouse pointer over the link to respond, the bogus sender’s information will be displayed. Do not click on any of the links. The method used to display the information will vary depending on which email client you are using. To help track down the culprits, you can forward the email message to either spoof@paypal.com or spoof@ebay.com.
You can perform a variety of on-line security checks by going to the One on One Computer Consultants Home page at: ( http://www.1on1cc.com ) and clicking on the link to Symantec Security Check. You can perform a Virus Check, Security Check, and/or Trace a Potential Attack on your computer system.
Avast! 4 Home Anti-Virus
As I mentioned earlier in this newsletter that most of the newer anti-virus programs are increasing the time it takes for your computer to start and can deplete some of your valuable resources, affecting the performance of your computer. Well, there seems to be good news with the free version of “Avast! Anti-virus”. This compact application offers many of the features of its costly counterparts. The only thing that is lacking is the ability to schedule a complete virus scan. However, you can schedule a full scan during your next “boot” sequence. This can be handy if you suspect that a virus infected file is loading at startup. The program is free for non-commercial use, but does require a simple registration before the 60 day trail period runs out. Go to: http://www.avast.com
AVG Free Antivirus v7.5
Grisoft has just
released the latest version of this free, “for non-commercial use”
anti-virus program. This latest update does include the ability to
schedule full scans. It boasts of smaller installation and update files.
The user interface seems to be easier to use. Go to:
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/2/lng/us/tpl/v5
ieSpell Spell Checker
This is an add-on program for Internet Explorer that will spell check text input into an on-line form. After typing in your text just click the button added to the IE toolbar. (It’s located under the Tools menu item also.) It seems to be a lot faster than server side programs used for spell checking. You probably don’t need this add-on if you have a later version of Microsoft Word or Works installed. Go to: http://www.iespell.com/
Upgrade your Memory
Adding memory is the most cost effective upgrade that you can make to your computer system. Well, with the new generation of memory modules being released (DDR2) on the market, you’ll soon see the price of “older” memory modules start to increase. If you plan on keeping your existing computer for a couple of years, then you should consider maximizing your memory, now. You can usually go to your PC manufacturer’s web site and find out how much memory you can load into your system. You can also check for the proper configuration, since some modules must be installed in pairs or in a specific slot order.
Limit Computer Logon Times
Parents complain about their children logging on for hours late at night. Well, if you have Windows XP installed, you can limit their log on times with a Command Prompt. This does not knock them off-line if they’re already on-line. (If you have an older version of Windows, then you’ll have to do an Internet search for Parental Controls to get the same protection.)
First, change their account to “limited” instead of “administrator”, if it isn’t setup already. Then, you must go to the Command Prompt. Go to Start, All Programs, Accessories, and Command Prompt. Type in the following:
net user Name /times: (Where Name is their user name and times is the Allowed Access Schedule.)
For Example, the following command line allows Jack to be on the computer from 7am until 8pm, Monday through Sunday (every day).
net user Jack /times:M-Su,7AM-8PM
Note there is a space after the User Name.
To blend hours, look at the following example:
net user Jack /times:Su-Th,7AM-8PM;F-Sa,6AM-10PM
To indicate days,
use M, T, W, Th, F, Sa and Su. To indicate hours, use only whole hours.
You can lift all restrictions and start from scratch by using "ALL:"
net user Jack /times:ALL
For more computer
Tips & Tricks go to the One on One Computer Consultants Tips Page at:
(
http://www.1on1cc.com/tips.htm )