Costly Dial-up

Beware that certain websites employ sneaky methods to install premium rate dial-up telephone numbers onto a PC, the idea being that next time you connect to the Internet, you unwittingly use their number rather than your own. All dial-up settings are stored in Dial Up Networking, which is accessed from the Settings button on the Start Menu. Open it up and you should see two or more icons - one is for your ISP and others for the interlopers. Simply click to select each of the unwanted connections and delete them. In future, pay close attention to any dialogue boxes that pop-up when you browse a website and don't click Yes or OK buttons without first reading what you are agreeing to.

Beware of the latest SCAM

With regard to your Domain Name, be aware that a domain registration company has been sending out "Expiration Notices" and asking for payment offering savings if you pay earlier than the renewal date. Please be ultra careful to check the domain name quoted is in fact your name i.e. - they may have changed it slightly by adding a full stop or by putting in an extra 'uk' or 'com' instead of '.co.uk'. It may well be absolutely correctly spelt, and be attempting to con you out of an extra renewal fee. If you are unsure of your domains renewal date, you can always give us a call and we are more than happy to help.

Direct Drive

Most of us use our CD-Rom (for XP only) or floppy drive a lot but it can take a lot of clicking to get to the disk or drive in question. Here's a very simple solution: double-click on My Computer then click on and drag the drive or disk you want easy access to onto your Desktop. A small dialogue box will appear asking you if you would like to create a shortcut - click on Yes. The appropriate icon will now appear on your Desktop.

Lock Out

You may well be familiar with some of the keyboard shortcuts that involve the Windows key: ÿ, i.e. the Windows keys and F will start Windows Find function or the Windows key and E will start Windows Explorer. However, another useful tip if you are working on a sensitive document or you have children who are likely to bash away at the keyboard as soon as you are out of the room is to hold down the Windows key then press L on the keyboard. This will lock your computer until you re-enter your Windows password.

Adding a signature or a disclaimer to your Emails

We have produced a Help Sheet giving details on how to have a particular message or phrase always to appear on your email. To view our Help Sheets go online to www.oakleighcomputers.co.uk click on the Help Sheets button to the left hand side and you will find this and many others, which may be of interest to you.

Painful Pop-ups

The best way to stop these annoying messages is to install a firewall on your PC. This will also prevent any more malicious and silent attacks from getting through. With Panda Antivirus software it is included, as part of the software and you should already have protection. Of course for anyone accessing the Internet it is vital that you have some form of Antivirus to protect your computer and your own personal details, which may be stored on your hard disk. Please contact us immediately if you do not have protection as not only yourself but also any others you may email could also be at risk. The latest Windows Updates also protect you.

Remembering passwords for Websites

Internet Explorer can remember password for websites and input them automatically when you go to that site. If you have more than one username for a website, Internet Explorer will wait until you start to type and will then display the options. When you enter a username that it recognises it will enter the password automatically. Unfortunately, there is no way to edit individual entries in the password log, although you can delete them and start again. To do this click on the Tools option in Internet Explorer and click on Internet Options. Click on the Content tab and then on the AutoComplete button. You can use this window to set exactly what Internet Explorer will complete for you. To remove your passwords, click on the Clear Passwords button.

Invisible ink

Hiding columns or rows of information in Excel spreadsheets is a useful function, but did you know you can do much the same thing in Word? It's handy for annotating documents without affecting the viewed or printed content. First, select the text you'd like to hide by clicking and dragging over that part of the text. Click on the Format Menu and select Font. On the Font dialogue box, click to place a tick in the Hidden Checkbox - your text will disappear from the document. To make it reappear, click on the show/hide button on the toolbar.