West Vancouver Seniors' Activity Centre
WVSC Computer Club 
 

Tips & Tricks

This page contains Tips & Tricks that have been submitted by Club Members at our meetings.Click on the heading of a topic below to jump down the page to read it. Click on the heading of a topic below to jump down the page to read it.

Eliminating pop-up ads

I have just converted from Windows98-FE to WindowsXP-HE and I have been astounded at the number of attempted intrusions on my system – it was never like this with Win98! However I think I now have these under control with Norton Internet Security and Anti-Virus, as well as PopUpStopper to stop the irritating ads. But I would like to share the following message on the AVSIM forum with you, since it is a built-in alternative for eliminating pop-up ads, and it seems to work.

I assume you have XP, if so, this problem is because Microsoft XP, by default, has built into a service called "Messenger." This service has nothing to do with the Microsoft Instant Messenger that you use to chat with people. Its purpose was to allow network admins to be able to quickly send out a popup message to clients that are on a LAN so as to communicate system events, shutdowns, etc. This concept is okay if you are on an isolated LAN, but when you are on the internet, anyone who knows your IP address can message you without you consent. These trolls have programs that go out and randomly send these messages out to thousand of IP addresses that are automatically generated (they really don't know that it's YOUR ip address, they simply send it out to as many as possible.

Anyway, Microsoft's mistake was to make this service, by default, automatically TURNED ON! Unbelievable that they would do this, and in my opinion, unacceptable. This should be considered a security flaw and a fix provided in an update. However, as far as I know this has not occurred, even though it is being abused by these internet trolls praying on peoples' unawareness of this ridiculous flaw in XP (I am not sure whether this is in 98 or 95).

To disable this service, do the following:

  • Go to the My Computer Icon, and right click and select "Manage."
  • Expand "Services and Applications."
  • Highlight "Services."
  • Scroll down to the "Messenger" service and right click and select Properties.
  • For "Startup Type" select "Disabled."
  • For "Service Status" press "Stop."
  • Press "OK"

That will disable the service so that it never starts again! And, unless you are on a corporate network where this service is necessary, you should never enable this service.

Here's a little tip for those times when explorer crashes

While working in Windows 2000/XP, sometimes explorer.exe will crash, leaving you with a desktop but no start menu, task bar or system tray. To recover, Control-Alt-Delete to bring up Task Manager and select File -> New Task and enter explorer.exe. You're now back in control of your machine!

This is a good source of tips & tricks for windows XP

Click here. - There are similar pages for all microsoft products.


 

Turn off File and Printer Sharing to Protect Yourself

This problem has been around for ages, but it's worth discussing again. The file and printer sharing setting in Windows could leave you wide open to invasion from the Internet. So, turn it off, already!

In Windows 98 and ME, click Start, Settings and Control Panel. Then;

  • Double click the Network icon
  • Select Configuration and click the File and Print Sharing button
  • Deselect file sharing and print sharing
  • Click OK»OK. Restart the computer.

In Windows XP, double click the Network icon as before. Then:

  • Right-click Local Area Connection
  • Click Properties and the General tab
  • Clear File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks
  • Click OK. Close the Network Connections window. Restart the computer.

If you must use file and printer sharing, be sure you have a firewall.


 

Ad-Aware info

  1. If you have not updated your version of AdAware, the champion spyware deleter, the version you have is obsolete and no longer supported by lavaSoft. So you should uninstall any version earlier that #6.
  2. RefUpdate, the former auxiliary, is also obsolete, so you should also uninstall it.
    • Both of the above, if you are a Windows user, can be uninstalled through the Control Panel's Add/Remove program feature.
    • The new version, #6x, is completely new in every way and much more efficient. It has a built-in updater that is activated by clicking on a button.
    • It is still free and may be downloaded from www.download.com
    • once you've installed it, first update so that your new copy has the complete list of known spyware; and then let it do its full scan--you may be surprised at how many new bad guys you've been harboring.

To Make a Desktop Shortcut to a Program

  • The easiest way to make a shortcut to a program is to find that program’s main executable file and then right-click on it and “send” it to the Desktop to create a shortcut there. There are some programs, however, that hide their files away with odd names in obscure folders, and it can therefore be somewhat daunting to try to set up a shortcut for these programs. Here is a way to get around the problem:
  • Open the Programs menu, and place the mouse-pointer on the link to the program for which you would like to make a shortcut. Right-click, and in the menu that opens, left-click on Properties. In the Properties panel that opens, you will see that the target file, and the path to it, have already been selected (*If not, see below). Place the mouse-pointer on the selected path/file and right-click. In the menu that opens, left-click on copy.
  • Close all open panels to reveal the Desktop.
  • Place the mouse-pointer in an open area on the Desktop, and right-click. In the menu that opens, place the pointer on New, and in the sub-menu that opens, left-click on Shortcut. In the Create Shortcut panel that opens, place the mouse-pointer in the opening under “Type the location of the item:”, and then right-click. In the menu that opens, left-click on Paste. Click on the Next button, and in the next panel that opens, edit the name of the program if required, and then click the Finish button. You will now have a new Desktop icon which will run your chosen program.

*There are a few programs that will not allow you to copy the path/program filename from the Properties window. In that case, since you are not able to create a shortcut to the actual executable file, the best that you can do is to right-click on the program link in the Program Menu, and then left-click on Send To / Desktop (create shortcut). The Desktop shortcut thus created will work as long as the program's entry in the Programs Menu remains operational.


To change the ink cartridge of an Epson Printer

  • Epson Color 600 (the following may also apply to other Epso models)
  • To change ink cartridges when no lights are showing next to the ink icons,then hold down the "paper" button ( above the ink button) for 3 or 4 seconds until the carraige moves out and stops.
  • The instructions for "Head cleaning" and "Changing cartridges" are identical, the only way the machine can tell the difference is when one of the ink lights is lighted. Then the carriage will move out and stop to allow the change of cartridge, otherwise it will clean the heads.

Smooth edges of screen fonts for Windows XP

Right click desktop - Click Properties - Click Appearance - Click Effects - put a checkmark in : Use the following method to smooth edges of screen fonts and change Standard to Cleartype

 

 


Create a one-step shutdown icon for Windows XP

Shutting-down Windows is normally a three-step process: Click on the "Start" Button, then click on "Turn off Computer", and then click on the "Turn off" button. It is possible to reduce the shut-down procedure to a one-step process as follows:
Right-click on an open space on the desktop. In the menu that opens, go to "New" and then on the submenu that opens, left-click on "Shortcut".
In the "Create Shortcut" panel that opens, type in "shutdown -s -f -t 5" and click on the "Next" button.
In the "Select a Title" panel that opens, type the name "Shutdown", and then click on the "Finish" button
You have now created a working one-step shut-down icon
To improve the appearance of your new icon, right-click on it, and in the menu that opens, left-click on "Properties".

In the Properties panel, click on "Change Icon"
In the "Change Icon" panel, choose an icon image and click on it to select it. Click on the "OK" button.
If you feel the need to save even more time, you can drag your new icon down into the Quick-Launch area of the Taskbar, where a single click will be sufficient to launch it.

Microsoft Antispyware - how to download and install

Microsoft's Antispyware is a free program that can be downloaded from the Internet. To run the demonstration of how to find the program, download it, install it, and configure it, click on the link below.

MS Antispyware Installation Demo

The demo is in Macromedia Flash format, so the Flash-player plugin is required. If the movie does not play in your web browser, you must first install the free Flash player from the Macromedia Web Site.


Viewing Attachments that appear as a Red x

On some emails that you open and there are pictures involved, you get only a box with a red x in it. If you try to open the picture by double clicking on the red x, it won't open.

If this happens on emails from certain people, it's almost certainly caused by settings in the email soitware used by those SENDERS. When you put a picture in an email, you can either embed the picture (so it's sent along with the mail) or just include a link. The latter style is fine if the picture is somewhere on the web, but if it's a “local” picture on the sender's computer, the recipient cannot possibly see it and you get that red X. (The sender will say "No, I checked in Sent Items - the picture is fine!". And of course it is... but only for that sender).

Your sender has to resolve this problem. If they are using Outlook Express, they should choose Tools | Options from the menu, click the Send tab, click the HTML Settings button (the one in the "Mail Sending Format" panel), and check the box "Send pictures with messages". Then you will be able to receive their pictures.

Make sure your own computer is set up this way so that your own pictures can be opened at the other end.
 
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