April Showers!

April showers. We've sure had them in the Pacific Northwest this year. By the way, if April Showers bring may flowers, what do May flowers bring? Pilgrims!! May flowers - Mayflowers? <groan> OK, with no further nonsense, let's get right to the newsletter.

You Recovered From a Virus, Now What?

1. Change your passwords. Some viruses are designed to capture user names and passwords and report those back to the bad guys. So immediately after removing the virus, log into ALL your accounts and change your passwords. Be sure to use different passwords for every site, and use “secure” passwords. Use a mix of upper and lower case letters, numbers and non-alpha characters, such as the @ or # symbols. Also, change your Windows login password for all accounts, including your Administrator account.
2. Notify people in your contact list of your virus. Certain viruses send emails in your name, with attachments that will spread the virus to the recipients. For this reason, it’s only considerate to send everyone in your email contact list a notice that you were infected, and instruct them not to open any suspect emails from you that they had received prior to this notification. Of course, emails from this point on are safe.
3. Make sure your anti-virus program is up to date. Just because you got a virus doesn’t automatically mean your anti-virus program is insufficient. By the very nature of viruses, anti-virus manufacturers are always playing “catch-up”. A new virus comes out, the anti-virus folks learn of it, then they release a fix for it. There’s no way they can prevent everything. Having said this, assuring that you have the latest updates to your anti-virus program will go a long ways towards protecting you.
4. Practice safe computing. Your behavior while on the computer will be the chief determination as to whether or not you get a virus. Don’t open attachments to emails unless you know exactly what the sender sent you. Make sure your anti-virus software scans your emails and attachments. Use a “sandboxed” web browser. This is a web browser that runs in an isolated environment, separate from the rest of the computer. This way, if you catch a virus while on the internet, that virus stays contained in the sandbox and cannot infect the rest of the system. An excellent, free sandbox program is Sandboxie.

Follow the steps above and you can rest assured your data and your computer will remain safe.

Clean Up That Desktop!

While it’s convenient to save items to the desktop, you’ll find that it quickly becomes hard to navigate, due simply to the number of icons on the desktop. So let’s take a moment to clean things up.

Before we start, we need to differentiate between data files, programs, and shortcuts on the desktop. Data files are those created by programs, such as Microsoft Word or Excel. Programs are just that – programs that can be executed. Lastly, shortcuts are simply pointers that connect you to the appropriate data file or program. Shortcuts typically have an arrow in the lower-left corner of the icon. Shortcuts we’ll leave alone, but the next couple of steps will show how to move the data files and programs off of the desktop.

The first thing to do is to move data files off the desktop. Yes, you can save files to the desktop, but, in addition to the files themselves showing on the desktop, many apps will also create temporary files, and those sometimes don’t automatically erase, thus adding to the clutter on the desktop. So, select every data file on the desktop. (You can select multiple files by holding down the Ctrl key as you click on subsequent files.) Once they’re selected, let go of the Ctrl key, and right-click on any one of those selected files. In the pop-up menu select Cut. Then double-click on your Documents folders. (In XP, it’s named My Documents.) Right-click on a blank area in the Documents folder and select Paste. This will move all of those data files into the Documents folder. Of course, depending on just what file type it is, you can also move a file to your Pictures folder, your Music folder, or any other folder. The point being, it’s best to save files to one of these pre-named folders in Windows, rather than the desktop.

Read the rest of the article here...

Save Any Picture as a Desktop Image

You can use virtually any picture as an image on your desktop. If you have a picture in your computer that you’d like to use as desktop image, all you need to do is browse to that file’s location, and the right-click on the file. In the subsequent pop-up, select Set as Desktop Background. Easy, isn’t it?

If you’re browsing the internet and come across a picture you want to use as a desktop background, that’s just as easy. Simply right-click on the image and in the pop-up select Set as Background. (If you’re using the Google Chrome browser, it’s a bit more difficult. Right-click the image and then save it to your computer. Then browse to that saved file’s location, right-click on it and select Set as Desktop Background).

Using this method, you can set your desktop background to whatever suits your mood at the moment. The Computer Psychic’s media center computer, for example, currently displays a skeptical hippo.

By the way, you can also display the image original size or stretch it to fit your desktop. Right-click on the desktop and select Personalize, and then Desktop Background. (XP users, select Settings and then Desktop.) Here you can size it as desired.

One more thing – if you want even more variety, you can install an application that changes your background automatically. One good free app that does this is John’s Background Switcher.

Bottom line is, it’s your computer! Have some fun with it, and personalize it to fit your mood.

Read all of The Computer Psychic's articles here...

The World Wild Web

Featuring the oddest, funniest and just plain freakiest websites we can find.

How to tell if your cat is plotting to kill you
Yeah, your kitty looks all cute and cuddly, but inside is the mind of a killer. Here's how to tell if you're next on its list.

Things you never knew existed
A coffee mug that looks like a toilet. An inflatable moose head. A mini pool table. A talking redneck bear. How have we lived without all these things??!!?? Find these and many more bizarre things you must have!

Awkward family photos
Wow. I thought I took bad pictures...

Remember, you can always view more content, get tips and plenty of free software at www.thecomputerpsychic.com. And of course, quality, guaranteed computer support is just a phone call away.

Steve Smith
The Computer Psychic
(360) 607-4364