Help is Really Needed!!!

Page 1
Electronically Speaking
Volume 20 Issue 1
Janaury 2007
Thursday, January 11, Special Agent Marc
Quince of the Virginia State Police will present
Internet Scams and how to avoid them.
Special Agent Marc Quince is on the cutting edge of different
ways the scam artists are trying to get into your nest egg.
His presentation will be to enlighten us about the latest scams
that are taking place in Virginia and around the world via your
computer, bank, credit cards etc.
Among the topics to be discussed are Identity theft, current
internet scams, current bank scams, how to protect checking
and savings accounts, credit cards and your money in general.
There will also be a laugh or two along the way of what people
have believed as true.
What better time to have Special Agent Quince come as we
start the New Year and his point will be to help us make sure
that what we buy for our loved one goes to our loved one and
not to the scammers
Page 2
Tips and Hints
Page 3
Captions and
Photos from the
Holiday Party
Page 4
Marty’s November
SIG
Page 5
Help is Really Needed!!!
Bingo, to a large extent, is the lifeblood of FPCUG. Additional
workers are needed to maintain the effort of philantrophy that has
been demonstrated in past few years. The YMCA, Moss Free
Clinic, Rappahannock Area Council Against Sexual Assault, HIV/
AIDS Support Services, Fredericksbugh Counseling Services,
Fredericksburg Mental Health Associaton and the Boys and Girls
Club are some of the ogranizations that have benefited from our
efforts. All this is in addition to the informative SIGs and monthly
general meetings
Internet Explorer 7
Page 6
SIG Information
Page 7
Calendar
Page 8
Holiday Photos
To sustain these efforts we need new workers. Just 5 hours every
other month is what it takes.
A worker does not have to belong to FPCUG, just be willing
to help support needy organizations in the Fredericksburg
Area.
Contact Bill Wiliams at 582-2608 or Rick Neil at 220-5354 to help
with this effort.
Electronically Speaking
Page 2
FPCUG
Meetings in 2007
Tips and Hints
by Dick Carricato
Using the Save As Dialog Box
To demonstrate the concept of Path that was introduced last time, let’s open
Notepad. (Click Start, Programs, Accessories, Notepad.) Type a few characters
and click File, then Save As. The Save As dialog box presents us with a
graphical means to place this file into any folder of any storage device on the
computer. Note the top of the dialog box. It says “Save As” in the title bar. Just
below the title bar is the Save in: area which shows the folder name last used to
save a file. Click the pull down arrow at the right-hand end of the Save in: area.
The entire computer storage facility drops into view, along with some shortcuts
like Desktop and My Documents.
Let’s actually save our nothing file as an exercise. First we have to decide
where to save it. My Documents sounds pretty good to me. So, click on My
Documents and its name should jump into the Save in: area. If we save everything to the My Documents folder it will soon become cluttered, so let’s make a
new folder in which to put the file. The Save As dialog box has that facility built
in.
To the right of the Save in: area are several small icons. Pause your mouse
pointer over each of them and a “pointer tip” appears explaining what each does.
The small folder symbol with a sparkle is the “make a new folder” icon. Click the
icon. If a highlighted “New Folder” shows up, just begin typing your choice of
folder name. It will replace the name, New Folder. You must press Enter when
finished.
For the name of the new folder, let’s use something easy to spot like Not Good
Files, and press Enter. This puts the Not Good Files folder into the My Documents folder. Now double click the new folder, Not Good Files, to put it into the
Save in area. We are now ready to name our file and save it in the newly
created folder.
Highlight whatever is already in the “File Name:” area so that it will be replaced
when you type the name you want to call this file. Let’s type First No Good File
and click Save. And we are done. Fortunately it takes much less time to do this
than to read or write about it.
Backup Tip
As soon as you have saved your file, take a few seconds to backup your saved
file. If it is not already there, put a Flash Drive into any USB port. (If you would
rather, put a floppy in the 3.5” slot, or a CD into your CD burner.) Click on File
and Save As. The Save As dialog box opens in the folder where you left it, with
the file name that you assigned still showing. Now, using the techniques
described above, navigate to the device of choice for your backup, create a
folder if necessary (don’t forget to double click it,) and save the file.
If you let this become a habit every time you save a file, you will never have to
worry about losing your data.
E-Mail while traveling
It works just like it works at home. Once you have access to the Internet,
(Continued on next page)
January 11
February 8
March 8
April 12
May 10
June 14
July 12
August 9
September 13
October 11
November 8
December 14
Fredericksburg
PC Users Group
Electronically Speaking is published
monthly for the information and pleasure of
the members of the Fredericksburg PC
Users Group. Any FPCUG member or visitor
is invited to submit articles for the newsletter.
Officers
Gil Schor- President
president@fpcug.org
John Kruelle
1st Vice-President
vp1@fpcug.org
George Bell
2nd Vice President
vp2@fpcug.org
Ray Pollock- Secretary
secretary@fpcug.org
Chuck Hart- Treasurer
treasurer@fpcug.org
Board of Directors
Jim Jordan
Cliff Dalseide
Josh Cockey
Trustees
Bill Williams-Agent of Record
Gene Brower
Rick Neil
Newsletter Editor
Jim Jordan
newsletter@fpcug.org
Webmaster
Josh Cockey
webmaster@fpcug.org
Cover montage is from
the Holiday Celebration
of 2005
Page 3
Electronically Speaking
Captions and some additional photos of the Holiday Party
Photo captions from page 8.
1. The table is loaded.
2. Everythng is ready.
3. Gil dynamically presents.
4. The collection box.
5. Ruth Jordan and Chuck Hart dig in.
6. Gil presents plaques to Elizabeth & Shirley.
7. When do we eat.
8. Gene Brower greets everyone.
Photos on
9. Gil takes some photos.
this page
10. Ruth J. looking at the setup.
by Gil
11. Lineup at the table.
Schor
12. Everythings ready.
13. At the table.
Rick Neil enjoys the food.
Tips & Hints
Everybody eats.
John Kruelle and his
camera.
Josh & Sheila Cockey.
Gene Brower hands out
raffle tickets.
(Continued from previous page)
everything else just works. It doesn’t matter how you get to the
web, so a wireless connection at a library or a Starbucks is
just fine. Once on the Internet -and this could be through a
neighbors wireless connection (with his permission of course)launch Internet Explorer and go to your web mail site or to any
of the free mail sites. Alternatively, if you use Outlook Express
at home, launch OE and get your mail.
Jim Jordan hopes
to get some food.
Barbara Canada, who helped
with the food, gets a chance
to sit down.
If you don’t have a neighbor with an accessible connection,
here is the address of a site that lists thousands of free WiFi
Hotspots: http://anchorfree.com/ .
Backup E-Mail … Important mail can be backed up from
within any OE mail folder. Just highlight the message you want
to save, then Click File on the menu, and Select Save as…
Then put the resulting (.eml) file into a folder of your choice.
OE will assign the subject of the message to the name of the
file.
Print Size in Outlook Express … Open the message you
wish to print, and in it’s menu bar, click on View and select
Text Size… Now put a check next to the size you want. The
smallest is about 10 pt. This is small typewriter size, about 12
characters per inch. Small is about 12 pt, which is normal
typewriter size, about 10 characters per inch. Medium is a bit
larger, and the large selections are very large. Make your
choice and print. Very quickly you will find the sizes you like to
use for the screen and for printing.
The photo may not be too flattering, but Bill
Williams enjoys the food.
Board of Directors Meetings
All of the FPCUG Board of Directors meetings are open
to any of our members.
At any time if you feel that the Directors are not responsive to your needs feel free to come to one of the
meetings that are scheduled the Tuesday prior to
Thursday General Meeting.
It would be appropriate to send a note to the President
or Vice-President if you wish to address an issue but
time will always be allowed if you just indicate a wish to
speak to the group.
FPCUG is Your Club!
73, and Happy New Year
Dick Carricato 772-546-7790
d_carricato@bellsouth.net
Electronically Speaking
Page 4
Marty’s December SIG
6. Registry Monitor
StartupMonitor, which I use, watches the Start Menu’s Startup
folders and the Run entries in the registry, and prevents
annoying programs from registering behind my back. If I should
choose not to allow a program to register, I can go back and
enable it later.
http://www.mlin.net/StartupMonitor.shtml
Files below are programs demonstrated at the
December Internet SIG. As we all know things
change on the Internet and FPCUG or Electronically Speaking cannot be held responsible for
any problems that may be caused by these
downloads.
Marty Gizzi
Q1. Are you still using FREE Windows Defender?
A1. Yes, but in order to download the latest update identified
by “Windows Update” in IE, I had to start BITS service as
follows:
a. Click Start->Run, type “services.msc” (without quotation
marks) in the open box and click OK.
b. Double click the service “Background Intelligent Transfer
Service” (BITS).
c. Click the button “Start” under “Service Status” to start the
service.
Q2. How can know if the phone company or my dial-up
ISP is disconnecting me?
A2. One possible way is to eliminate your ISP as the problem
by using a free download to keep connected to the Internet.
Connection Keeper prevents your Internet connection from
appearing idle or inactive. If a connection is lost, Connection
Keeper can automatically dial back in. It can even automatically close popup windows (such as those asking if you
wish to remain connected).
http://www.gammadyne.com/conkeep.htm
If you download, install and use this free program, but you’re
still being disconnected, then this may indicate a phone
company problem, rather that an ISP problem.
3. Find Good Computer Deals
http://www.bitsdujour.com/
http://www.freeafterrebate.com
http://www.weeklycloseouts.com/page/en/home.aspx
http://www.antirebate.com/
http://www.ableshoppers.com/
Check all these sites with your requirements, because different sites have different brands.
4. UPDATED REGULARLY - The Best-ever Freeware Utilities
Many freeware products are as good or better than commercial
alternatives.
http://www.techsupportalert.com/best_46_free_utilities.htm
Also, an additional site provides 49 extensions to the above.
However, that site was only given to December’s attendees,
because that site’s author requested that the site not be
posted.
5. Web News
For those who, like me, aren’t into RSS because we have dialup and, therefore, can’t spare the bandwidth for RSS, this site
gives the latest from Digg, Del.icious, Youtube, Slashdot,
Wired and more.
http://popurls.com/
7. Find Your Home Value
On Yahoo!’s Real Estate site you can find out how much your
home is worth, **but so can anyone else**.
http://realestate.yahoo.com/Homevalues
8. Saving Icons’ Positions for FREE.
Most users do NOT need this program, because Windows
usually saves icons’ positions on the desktop automatically.
However, IF you’re having a problem saving these positions,
DesktopSave saves your icons’ positions.
http://www.dolinaysoft.com/
9. FREE POP3 To A Yahoo Account
YPOPs, which I use, grants free POP3 to a Yahoo account. It
lets me skip Yahoo!’s fee.
http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/yahoopops/ypops-win0.8.7.exe?use_mirror=superb-east
10. FREE POP3 To A Hotmail Account
MrPostman, which I don’t use because I don’t have a Hotmail
Account, grants free POP3 to a Hotmail account. It lets you
skip Hotmail Plus’s fee.
http://sourceforge.net/project/
showfiles.php?group_id=68124&package_id=66673&release_id=383373
11. FREE Alternative to OE For Checking Email.
Thunderbird is a free program for checking email. “Mozilla” is
open source, but Thunderbird has a Windows version.
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/thunderbird/
12. FREE Upgrade To AVG Anti-Virus
Upgrade your AVG Anti-Virus to version 7.5. This link is for the
entire program, NOT JUST the update.
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/avg-anti-virus-free/lng/us/tpl/v5
Although I will probably NOT be the Internet SIG leader for
January 2007, I
will relay my thoughts to whoever is named.
Regards,
Marty Gizzi, Internet SIG leader for December 2006
Any questions? Get answers on any topic at Yahoo! Answers.
Try it now.
Page 5
Electronically Speaking
Internet Explorer 7
By Sandy Berger, Compu-KISS
www.compukiss.com
sandy(at)compukiss.com
If you are using Windows XP, in the next few weeks when
the Microsoft automatic Windows update appears on your
computer, you will be asked if you want to upgrade your
browser to the newly released Internet Explorer 7. It’s great
that Microsoft is giving us a choice rather than installing
the new browser automatically. However, questions like
these are always difficult for the average user.
Yet with this question, you don’t have to hesitate to answer
“yes” because the new Internet Explorer (version 7) is a
great improvement over previous versions. I have been
using it as part of beta testing for the last six months with
no issues. I love its many new features.
While the toolbar has been simplified and some buttons
have moved to new locations, you will find that the move to
the new version is pretty intuitive. So you can continue to
browse the Internet with minimal additional effort.
In fact, any effort you need to exert to learn how to use this
new browser is more than worthwhile because it has some
extremely useful features that make Internet surfing easier
and more fun.
First and foremost is the fact that Microsoft has added
tabbed browsing. While other browsers like Firefox and
Opera have had these for years, this is a new addition for
Internet Explorer. Tabbed browsing allows you to open a
new webpage in a tab rather than a new window. So you
can have several web pages open at once and you can
switch from one to another easily. You will see all of the
tabs across the top of the browser with the webpage name
or part of it on the tab.
With tabbed browsing you can have your favorite newspaper (www.thepilot.com) open right next to the weather, your
favorite financial website, and your favorite computer help
website (www.compukiss.com). Click on the small icon to
the left of the tabs and you can see each open web page
as a thumbnail. Click on the arrow next to the icon and you
get a text list of the open web pages. You can close any
open web page by clicking on the red x on its tab.
are able to change the size of the text, but often that change
made the whole web page look askew because the size of the
graphics is not increased. Not so with IE7. Just look in the
lower right hand corner of the IE& screen for the magnifying
glass. You can click on the magnifying glass to make the
entire web page, including the graphics, larger. This lets you
adjust the size while keeping everything in proportion…..a
boon to aging eyes and those with vision problems.
Printing functionality in IE 7 has also been greatly improved.
Remember how when you tried to print a webpage the right
side was cut off or you wasted paper as a second page would
print out with only a line or two on it. Well, IE 7 has solved
those problems with a feature that automatically shrinks the
webpage content to fit the printed page. This does not necessarily work with web pages that have been poorly formatted,
but it does work well for most web pages. Also there are many
other printing options including adjustable margins,
customizable page layouts, and removable headers and
footers.
IE7 also has a search box that can be customized to use your
favorite search engine. So you can perform a Google, MSN,
Ask, or Yahoo! search without having to navigate to the
search engine’s home page first.
Just to the left side of the magnifying glass on the bottom bar
of the screen, Microsoft has also added a security bar. This
lets you change your security settings without sifting through
menus. Also included is an icon that you can use to check
whether the website you are visiting is a bogus site known for
phishing. Microsoft has also added other security enhancements and it is worth upgrading just to get a more secure
browser.
The only time you may not want to upgrade is if you are using
a specialized Web software program. This caution will apply
most to corporations and Web developers who need to make
sure that the customized or specialized software they are
using will work with this new version.
For the rest of you, take the jump. Internet Explorer 7 is
stable. It is chock full of new features. And it’s FREE.
The Editorial Committee of the Association of Personal Computer User
Groups (APCUG), an international organization of which this group is a
member, brings this article to you.
The ability to view and to print web pages has also been
improved in Internet Explorer 7. In Internet Explorer 6 you
January 11, 2007
Computer Scams
February 8, 2007
Dave Shotwell & Kilroy
March 8, 2007
The State of FPCUG
Electronically Speaking
Page 6
Check Your Internet Speed
There are three internet speed tests available on our webpage. You can
probably use any of them to test your connection speed. Each of these
tests runs somewhat differently but the result is information you can use.
All you have to do is check the box on the left hand side of our webpage and away
you go.
CHECK THE WEBPAGE!!!!
Community Service
Special Interest Groups (SIGs) meet at 7:00 PM at the Falmouth Fire House on Butler Road. SIGs are lead by members who have learned
through hands-on experience. All SIG leaders serve on a voluntary basis and, frequently, are participants in other SIGs lead by other members. So,
whether you want to lead or learn, we welcome you as a participant in FPCUG SIGs. FPCUG members and their family can join in as many SIGs as
they like at no cost.
Scheduled SIG Meetings
SIGs marked with an * will be available only if requested. Email the SIG Leader if interested.
SIG
SIG Leader
Meets
Beginner
Jim Jordan
Digital Photography
Ed Alexander
Genealogy
Anne Zink
via email
genealogy_sig_leader@fpcug.org
Graphics
Anne McGrath
3rd Tuesday
graphics_sig_leader@fpcug.org
Kay Pollock
4th Thursday
Chuck Hart
when requested
Neurofeedback
Web Site Developmen t*
Internet
Investing *
Technology
Video Production*
Word Processing Spreadsheets*
Windows 9x/XP
4th Thursday- when requested
Email Address
3rd Thursday
??????
1st Thursday
Chuck Hart
When requested
Josh Cockey
Linda Mayhew
?????
James Hopkins
beginner_sig_leader@fpcug.org
digitalphoto_sig_leader@fpcug.org
About what?
New to computers-this is for you
Make your camera work better
Look up your ancestors
Photo Editing & Image creation
neurofeedback_ sig -leader@fpcug.org
html_sig_leader@fpcug.org
Brain Training
Web Site problems
Where and what on the internet
investing_sig_leader@fpcug.org
Investing ideas and research
1st Tuesday
When available
technology_sig_leader@fpcug.org
video_sig_leader@fpcug.org
Exploring what’s available
Using video
when requested
msoffice_sig_leader@fpcug.org
All about Word-Excel & others
4th Tuesday
windows_sig_leader@fpcug.org
Learn about operating systems
Please note! All SIG Leaders may be contacted at: “Name of SIG”_sig_leader@fpcug.org.
Substitute the actual name of the SIG and remove the quotes.
What is FPCUG
All About?
Phone FPCUG at
540 373-7929 (Voice Mail)
* Problem Solving and Information Sharing
* Community Involvement and Public Service
* Special Interest Group Meetings Every Week
* Christmas Party (Member Families)
* Friendly People That Want to Help You
* Learning About Your Computer and Software
Next General Meeting
February 8, 2007. 7:00 PM
Come On Out!
Page 7
Electronically Speaking
January 2007
S UN
MON
1
THURSDAY
13
19
20
Neurofeedback
23
24
25
UUFF Team 3 26
Windows 9x-ME-XP
Indicates the deadline for submission forBeginners-Intermediate*
the next issue of Electronically Speaking.
27
15
Technology
Directors Meeting
Members welcome to observe
Graphics
3
SAT
12
14
2
FRIDAY
6
8
28
WED
5
7
21
TUESDAY
9
10
16
17
4
Internet
General Meeting
Digital Photography
UUFF Team 2
11
18
FPCUG Team 1
FPCUG Team 2
22
29
30
31
* Available when requested.
February 2007
S UN
MON
TUESDAY
WED
THURSDAY
Internet
4
5
11
12
18
19
25
26
Directors Meeting-Firehall 7:00 PM 6
13
Graphics
7
14
20
21
27
28
Helpline
Digital Photography-Ed Alexander- edkyoko@cox.net
Genealogy-Anne Zink - Paddingtonpoodle@aol.com
Publishing-Jim Jordan - jimjgraphics@comcast,net
Photo Edit- Anne McGrath- amcgrath@adelphia.net
Spreadsheet-(Excel) Chuck Hart- vaio50@aol.com
Network and Wireless Connections and General PC Problems -Josh Cockey-jcockey@wildblue.net
Word Processing-Rick Neil- rickneil@cox.net
Dept. of Stupid Questions-n jimjgraphics@concast.net
Remember-Only questions submitted via email will be
answered and don’t expect an answer in less than 7
days.
General Meeting
Digital Photography
FRIDAY
1
8
15
UUFF Team 4
FPCUG Team 3
FPCUG Team 4
22
Neurofeedback
UUFF Team 1
Beginners-Intermediate*
SAT
2
3
9
10
16
17
23
24
A contribution from Detective Scott Young of
Port St. Lucie, Florida
Eliminate some of the ANNOYING JUNK mail
You can have your name removed from
most national mailing list by contacting:
Direct Marketing Association
Mail Preference Service
PO Box 9008
Farmingdale, NY 11735-9014
Don’t miss the January 11, meeting. It could be important to you!
Electronically Speaking
Page 8
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You Missed It! We had a great holiday party on December 14 with over 50 members and guests in attendance. In keepng
with the spirit of the season the collection box for the Food Bank almost overflowed with contributions. Those present contributed $445 and FPCUG matched it with a similiar contribution making a total of $890 . FPCUG is proud to be able to make this
contribution for a very worthy cause. Photos on this page by Jim Jordan and please see captions on page 3.
The Newsletter of theFredericksburg, Va.
Personal Computer Users Group
2504 Ruffin Drive
Fredericksburg, VA 22408
To:
Stamp