[abcomputers] ABC ~ All 'Bout Computers, Vol. 14: Windows Security Explained,and More!
- From: "Linda F. Johnson" <linda@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: ABCfreelists <abcomputers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 13 Jul 2002 22:44:53 -0400
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ABC ~ All 'Bout Computers. The ezine YOU subscribed to. If you want to change
your subscription options or unsubscribe, see the bottom of this email for full
instructions. Thank you.
Linda
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/ABC.htm
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ABC ~ All 'Bout Computers
Volume 14; July, 2002 - mailed to 2296 subscribers
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Please rate this Ezine at the Cumuli Ezine Finder
http://www.cumuli.com/ezines/ra21981.rate
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If you would prefer to read the online Web-azine, which
includes pictures and screenshots and is, basically, more
user-friendly, follow either of these links:
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/ABC.htm (frames)
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/vol14.htm (no frames)
or, scroll down to the Contents where you can click on over
to any individual article
NOTE: Unsighted readers or anyone who uses a screen
reader shoud probably go online and read that version if
my separator lines are making too much "noise".
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For definitions of any terms you do not understand, visit
the GeekSpeak Translator:
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/capn3.htm
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You are receiving this newsletter because you (or someone
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If you would like to remove yourself from ABC,
please see SUBSCRIPTION MANAGEMENT at the bottom
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Using the "Reply" function will not unsubscribe you!
My subscriber list is NOT made available to other companies
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SPECIAL OFFER FOR ALL SUBSCRIBERS:
I ran a special promotional offer to get some more subscribers
and made them an offer of a free download of Vic Ferri's
Temperature Converter. Just so the rest of you don't feel
left out, go here and download yours now. Easiest way I
know to convert between Celsius and Fahrenheit:
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/CFConverter/tempconvert.zip
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WATCH FOR ANY LINKS THAT WRAP TO MORE THAN
ONE LINE!
These will have to be copied and pasted into your web
browser's Address Bar as one line in order for you to
access them.
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To view this text newsletter best, maximize your email
window to FULL screen.
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CONTENTS
(all links below these items take you to the non-frames Online versions)
(items with *** behind them include pictures and/or are viewed better
online)
1. Important How-To Message for Reading This Ezine
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/vol14.htm#HowTo
2. Linda's Thought of the Month
(and animated GIF) ***
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/vol14.htm#thought
3. Linda's Soapbox ~ Let's Hear It for the Little Guys
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/linda14.htm
4. What's New at Linda's Computer Stop ~
Busy, Busy, Busy
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/newabc14.htm
5. Subscribers' Exclusive Tip ~
Can't Hit That F8 Key Fast Enough To Get Into Safe Mode?
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/newabc14.htm#tip
6. GeekSpeak Translation from the Cap'n
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/capn3.htm
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7. THIS MONTH'S FEATURE ~
Vic's Registry Roundup & DOS Den ~
Windows File and Folder Security ***
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/vic14.htm
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8. Chas' Word World ~
Styles in Microsoft Word (Part III) ***
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/chas14.htm
9. Tina's FrontPage News ~
All About FrontPage 2002 Discussion Webs
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/tina14.htm
10. Mike's Safety Belt ~ E-Mail Security and Attachments
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/mike14.htm
11. Chad's Macro Mania ~
Built In Document Properties in Word
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/chad14.htm
12. Steve's Ravin' Reviews ***
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/steve14.htm
<> Random Tagline Manager ... 5 geezers
<> Google Toolbar ... 6 geezers
<> NoteTab Light ... 6 geezers
<> Reversi ... 5 geezers
13. Hal's Hardware Haven ~
How To Troubleshoot Your PC ***
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/hal14.htm
14. GuitarMan's Outlook ExpressTip of the Month ~
Easy Way To Make a "Template" in OE
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/gman.htm#template
15. Checking Your Message - Effective Web Copy
~ by guest author, Tom Neuman
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/tomn14.htm
16. Is Your Website Optimized for Search Engines?
~ by guest author, Scott Buresh
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/scottb14.htm
17. How to Invest in Your Online Marketing Today
~ by guest author, Scott T. Smith
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/scotts14.htm
18. Subscription Management
19. Contact Information
*** includes pictures in the online version
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*****************STATION BREAK*******************
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If you find this newsletter and/or my website at all helpful and
would like to give me a hand here, I am now accepting donations
through PayPal. To make a donation, go to the online version of this
web-azine and click on the PayPal button.
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/vol14.htm
Thanks in advance to any who do this!!
(NOTE: no one receiving this should feel obligated in any way to
do this .....this is a FREE newsletter!)
Linda, editor/publisher
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(1.) IMPORTANT HOW-TO MESSAGE
If you decide to go to the Online "Web-azine" version, go here first
for navigation instructions:
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/vol14.htm#HowTo
If you are reading this plain text issue, maximize your email window
for best viewing and WATCH FOR ANY LINKS THAT WRAP TO
MORE THAN ONE LINE! These will have to be copied and pasted
into your web browser's Address Bar as one line in order for you to
access them.
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(2.) LINDA'S THOUGHT OF THE MONTH
Here's a fun little ditty from my buddy, Frank G.
IF ONLY LIFE COULD BE LIKE A COMPUTER!
If you messed up your life, you could press "Alt, Ctrl,
Delete" and start all over!
To get your daily exercise, just click on "run"!
If you needed a break from life, click on "suspend".
Hit "any key" to continue life when ready.
To get even with the neighbors, turn up the sound
blaster.
To "add/remove" someone in your life, click settings
and control panel.
To improve your appearance, just adjust the display
settings.
If life gets too noisy, turn off the speakers.
When you lose your car keys, click on "find".
"Help" with the chores is just a click away.
You wouldn't need auto insurance. You'd use your
diskette to recover from a crash.
We could click on "send" and the kids would go to
bed immediately.
To feel like a new person, click on "refresh".
Click on "close" to shut up the kids and spouse.
To undo a mistake, click on "back".
Is your wardrobe getting old? Click "update".
If you don't like cleaning the litter box, click on "delete".
CLICK HERE FOR THIS MONTH'S ANIMATED GIF,
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/vol14.htm#thought
(just rightclick on the gif and choose "Save Picture As...")
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(3.) LINDA'S SOAPBOX
~~Linda F. Johnson, Editor/Publisher
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Let's Hear It for the Little Guys
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Those of you who know me by now, know I'm a big fan of
helping the "little guy". I always support small businesses
over large corporations. That's my own personal route to
supporting the "American Way". (As I have been known to
say, "If I see someone stealing from the mom-and-pop store
down the street, I'll be the first one to chase them and knock
'em down and call for the cops. But, when I see someone who
is hungry, stealing food from some huge supermarket chain to
feed their kids, I would probably trip the cop who was chasing
them.")
Many also feel that the little guys are usually less corrupt.
(Hence the constant conversations on the net comparing
Windows to Linux.)
And, no, the answer to this is NOT to steal from the big guy.
In the long run, this just hurts us all because the big guy
just raises his prices to compensate for his losses. The
big guy will never lose, believe me.
So, how can people like you and me support the little
guys on the Internet? Well, there is one big way we all
can do this. And, that is to USE their affiliate links.
Unfortunately, for some reason that I will never be able
to figure out, affiliates seem to have a bad rep. If anyone
can explain the rationality behind this to me, I would love
to hear it.
First of all, for those of you who don't even know what
an affiliate is, here's a little tutorial:
1. Big guy sells a product and offers affiliate relationships
to little guys like me. What this means is they give me a
special link I can use at my website to advertise their
product.
2. Little guy adds this special link to his/her site.
Someone who views their site clicks on this link and
buys this product.
3. Big guy gets the buckos AND THE BIG GUY GETS
A NEW CUSTOMER. The little guy gets a small
percentage of this ONE sale. (and the big guy invests
this money until it is sent to the little guy at the end of
the month, so the big guy MAKES money on the little
guy too. The big guy is in a win/win situation.)
4. Depending on the affiliate relationship, if this person
goes back to the big guy's site again in the future,
without going through the little guy's site, the little guy
may make NOTHING on the future purchases this
customer makes.
The only way the little guy can continue to make money
is for the customer to go to the little guy's site and click
on THAT LINK. So, if you want to support the little guy,
don't use the link the big guy sends you when you order
from them. Don't bookmark the big guy's link. Go back
to the little guy's page where the link resides and
BOOKMARK THE LITTLE GUY'S PAGE. And, if you
do like the product....don't send your friends to the big
guy....please send them to the little guy.
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Something I often see is this: Someone posts a link in an
email group to a helpful product or service. Let's say it's
one of my Newbie Club books. It would look something
like this:
http://newbieclub.com/wordmagic/?buntah
Note that whatever you see behind the question mark (?)
is what identifies the affiliate so they get their commission.
Someone in this same group then sends in a comment like:
"Here's another link without the affiliate garbage:
http://newbieclub.com/wordmagic";
What purpose does this serve? The person who clicks
on the second link gets the EXACT SAME PRICE as the
person who clicks on the first link. The only difference is
the big guy gets ALL the money and the little guy gets
nothing. So, why is this helpful to ANYONE other than
the big guy?
It's similar with cookies. Many affiliate links rely on
cookies that identify where the buyer came to them from.
So, people who disable cookies on their machines,
thinking they are preventing the big guy from identifying
them, are actually preventing the big guy from identifying
the affiliate. Those big guys who actually DO let the affiliate
continue to make something on future purchases, place a
cookie on your machine which identifies the affiliate when
you go back to their site without using the link at the little
guy's site. Disable this cookie and again, the big guy gets
it all and the little guy gets nothing.
Now, I understand the need people have to disable cookies,
but all I'm saying is, if you use the link on the little guy's site,
he will still get the commission without the need of the cookie.
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My third point, and then I'll shut up:
Remember that a lot of us little guys give you WAY
MORE FOR FREE than the big guys ever will. The
only way we can do this, WITHOUT ANY COST TO
YOU, is hope, when you do decide to buy from the big
guys, that you will use our affiliate links to do so.
In my case, I would never become an affiliate for a
company I do not support or believe in. If I send you
to a big guy, with my affiliate link, you can believe that
I am sending you to a product that I believe to be good
and have used myself.
Affiliates are NOT a bad thing. In my opinion, they are
what will keep things free on the internet. Without our
affiliate income, many of us little guys will have to start
charging to cover the expense of maintaining our web
sites and giving you so much for free.
Just think about who you may actually be hurting when
you don't support affiliate links. Bottom line is you are
probably hurting yourself, definitely hurting the little guy,
and definitely NOT hurting the big guy at all.
Many little guys go to great length to disguise their
affiliate links so no one knows they are making money.
Not me. I WANT you to know when something you are
buying helps me to help you better. I always proudly
display my affiliate links when I recommend something.
I am not ashamed that I get paid for what I do, cuz I
know I do it well and I am not trying to mislead people.
And, I assure you, since I DO understand the importance
of affiliates in keeping some stuff free on the Internet, if
I have a choice between going directly to the big guy
or supporting the little guy, I will ALWAYS choose to
support the little guy.
Have a great month, everybody!
Happy computing!
Linda
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Linda Johnson is a college instructor of all of the Microsoft Office
Programs, as well as Adobe PhotoShop and Windows. She also
teaches online distance learning classes in Excel, Outlook,
PowerPoint, Publisher, and Word at Eclectic Academy.
http://www.eclecticacademy.com/index.htm
She has worked helpdesk and teaches and lectures at many
local businesses and tech schools in her area. Support
this newsletter by checking out Linda's website
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com
and her ebook series, MS Word MAGIC!
Part I: Fonts, Fun & Formats
http://newbieclub.com/wordmagic/?buntah
Part II: Table Wizardry
http://newbieclub.com/wordmagic2/?buntah
AND, How To Get Started As a Software Trainer:
http://dreamjobstogo.com/titles/djtg0036.html?10456
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AND DON'T MISS LINDA'S NEWEST EBOOK SERIES:
If you have been interested in taking any of Linda's Online
Classes but don't want to wait six weeks to complete all the
lessons or don't have the desire to be part of an online
classroom, why not
SKIP THE CLASS & BUY THE BOOK INSTEAD?
Check out the eBook .exe versions of all of Linda's classes here:
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/library.htm
Only $15 each!! Where else can you master a software
Program for that price?
Separate eBook tutorials on Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint,
Publisher, and Word. Terrific value!!
OR BUY THEM ALL ON ONE CD!!
Order online or by regular mail
Details here:
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/cdtutorial.htm
Download the free Sample Version at CNET:
http://download.com.com/3000-2125-10120628.html?tag=dir
And PLEASE rate it there for me? Thanks!!
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*****************STATION BREAK*******************
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LINDA JOHNSON has published another eBook and
this one is called HOW TO GET STARTED AS A
SOFTWARE TRAINER
http://dreamjobstogo.com/titles/djtg0036.html?10456
DO YOU LOVE PLAYING WITH SOFTWARE AND WANT
TO TRY MAKING A CAREER OF IT?
That's just how Linda started out and this book she tells you
exactly how she did it and how YOU CAN DO IT TOO.
No need for a college education!
No need for professional certifications!
No need for expensive classes!
READ THIS BOOK TO LEARN HOW TO TRAIN AND
PROMOTE YOURSELF.
http://dreamjobstogo.com/titles/djtg0036.html?10456
Or, MAYBE HARDWARE IS MORE YOUR BAG?
Check out HOW TO BREAK INTO COMPUTER REPAIR
By Richard S. Harris
http://dreamjobstogo.com/titles/djtg0019.html?10456
Or if you have ANY DREAM JOB in mind, check out
DREAMS JOB TO GO
http://dreamjobstogo.com?10456
All eBooks are written by been-there/done-that authors
and sell for only $12.95, with a full money back guarantee.
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(4.) WHAT'S NEW at Linda's Computer Stop
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com
Another month where I have been busy, busy, busy.
First of all, for those who might be interested in buying
any of my eBooks, I've compiled a bunch of them onto a
CD that I am selling for just $45US. To those that think
this sounds high, check out the competition at the Video
Professor: Less info, more money. I promise you that
my CD will DEFINITELY teach you how to use all the
Office programs. I haven't had one complaint yet. And,
believe me, if I do, I WILL address it in a constructive way.
If you want a preview of what's on the CD, go here. See
what it looks like and download the free sampler that
gives you a free sample lesson for each program:
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/samplerscreenshots.htm
I recently received this email from someone who bought
the CD:
"I did not think I needed the CD, but when I ran the
Sampler I sure changed my mind. Superb!"
So, I recommend you look at the Sampler if you are
feeling the same way.
Also, the sampler has been picked up by CNET/ZDNET
and I'm real proud to have been recognized in this way.
If you want to see, go here:
http://download.com.com/3000-2125-10120628.html?tag=dir
If you DO go there, please rate the Sampler for me.
Rate it honestly. I don't expect any favors.
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I've also added an online form you can print and send to
me by regular mail if you want to order anything of mine
without using your credit card on the Internet. As always,
I completely respect your needs and privacy:
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/ebookorderform.htm
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Well, since no one entered the "create a logo" contest
for the plain text version of this newsletter and I received
an email from a blind user who reads that version with a
screen reader and he tells me ascii text makes the
newsletter totally unreadable, I've abandoned the contest.
Give me some time to think up another goodie and I will
run a different contest soon, I promise you.
BUT the Newbie Club is holding a prize drawing right
now and all you need to do is is tell your friends about
them. No strings. And they are giving away 36 eBooks!
Including two written by me. It's a goodie indeed.
Just go to my homepage and click on the big flashing
banner at the top.
And, good luck!!
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/
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I wrote an article for TechTrax on Using Filters in Excel
that might interest some of you. You can read that here:
http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/Pub0009/LPMArticle.asp?ID=60
Also, Vic Ferri has a great article there on increasing
your icon cache if you are having problems with your
desktop icons. You can read that here:
http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/Pub0009/LPMArticle.asp?ID=56
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Also, don't forget to watch my What's New page for
other additions to my site:
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/new.htm
And always go to my Favorite Links page and check
out the revolving Ns to see what's new there:
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/internet.htm
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Well, that's about it for new stuff this month. Thanks
for your patronage of my site and ezine. Drop me a
line any time and let me know of any additions you can
think of. I may be busy, but I'm always open to
suggestions.
Linda
linda@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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DO YOU WANT TO GO TO SCHOOL WITHOUT LEAVING
THE HOUSE?
It's the latest rage and it's called Distance Learning. Most
colleges now offer Distance Learning classes because they
know some people work hard and just can't fit a classroom
into their busy lives. But, sometimes you don't want to enroll
in a full program; you just want to take one class.
ECLECTIC ACADEMY IS YOUR ANSWER!
http://www.eclecticacademy.com/index.htm
Eclectic Academy offers a large range of classes to suit
many needs. Go there now and check out their curriculum
and roster. Classes are only $20 for 6 weeks.
HOW CAN YOU BEAT THAT?
Here's a sampling of what they offer:
*Art Courses, both digital and traditional
*Business Courses, including all of the MS Office Programs
(many taught by none other than Linda Johnson herself)
*Graphics Courses - Flash, PhotoShop, Paint Shop Pro & more
*Website Development Courses - FrontPage, Dreamweaver,
ASP, DHTML, Website Promotion, and on and on and on
*Eclectic Classes - Computer Maintenance, Writing Workshops,
Feng Shui, Eating Safely - just about anything you can think of
Go to Eclectic Academy now and sign up to be notified when
classes are added or ENROLL NOW in the class of your
choice. Go there now to enroll in the next set of classes.
ONLY $20 FOR A SIX-WEEK CLASS!
http://www.eclecticacademy.com/index.htm
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NEXT CLASSES BEGIN ON SEPTEMBER 1st!
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(5.) Subscribers' Exclusive Tip of the Month:
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This is a great one from Vic Ferri!!
NOTE FROM LINDA: Many people complain that when
they need to boot into safe mode for some reason, they
can never hit the F8 key fast enough and end up rebooting
two or three times before they time it right. Vic made a
cool little file that boots you right into safe mode automatically.
He says he made it in 96/97. Is he ahead of his time or what?
I didn't even know you could do this! And here's his
instructions so you can do it too. Thanks Vic.
Here is how you can create a desktop shortcut that, when
clicked, will automatically boot you into Safe Mode. This
works on Windows 95, 98, and 98SE only. It does not
work on Windows Me, 2000, XP, due to the fact that
Microsoft removed the ability to exit to dos using a
shortcut in those systems.
So for all you 95/98/98se users, here's how,
step by newbie step:
1. Right click your desktop and choose New>Shortcut.
2. In the command line enter this command: WIN /D:M
3. Click Next and choose any name you want for the
shortcut.
4. Click Next and choose your icon.
5. Click Finish.
6. Right click your new shortcut and go to Properties.
7. Click the Program tab and then the Advanced tab.
8. Put a checkmark next to MS-DOS Mode and remove
the checkmark from "Warn before entering MS-DOS Mode"
9. Click OK
And that's it. Now, whenever you need or want to get into
Safe Mode (ie: as for a defrag), just double click the icon
on your desktop
Note: if you get an error, change the command line
you entered to this:
C:\WINDOWS\WIN.COM /D:M
It seems, for some, that full path needs to be entered.
Vic Ferri
Lock and hide folders with maximum ease and security.
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/lh/lockhide.htm
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Free Tutorials, Free eBooks, Free Courses, Free Guestbooks, Free
Autoresponders, Free Newsletter, Free Affiliate program and
FREE MEMBERSHIP. Wow! Did I mention it was Free? Newbies
and Oldbies alike are buzzing about the NEW Newbie Club.
It's the most exciting Newbie Site ever to hit the Web.
Join now - it's FREE!
http://newbieclub.com/?buntah
FLASH!!
FREE: A Fabulous Library of Newbie eBooks
36 Top Selling PC and Internet Beginners eBooks waiting
to be claimed in The Newbie Club's Fabulous First Ever
FREE PRIZE DRAW. Time's Running Out real fast.
http://newbieclub.com/pd/?buntah
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(6.) Cap'n Patt's
GEEKSPEAK TRANSLATOR
Visit the Cap'n's Official GeekSpeak Database at
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/capn3.htm
If the word you need defined is not there, or the definition is
not clear, too geeky, or just plain confusing to you, email
the Cap'n. He would love to hear from you at
CapnPatt@xxxxxxx
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*****************STATION BREAK*******************
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ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A RELIABLE DOMAIN HOST
FOR YOUR WEBSITE?
Hands down, I think the one I use is the very best (Hal
Cardona's been using them for over 3 years and he turned
me onto them over a year ago).
*My site has NEVER been down for more than 3 minutes!
(except once late on a Saturday nite when it was being
worked on and they warned we well in advance).
*Their tech support are the greatest and I have never had
to wait more than an hour for a good answer to any question
or problem I had!
*If you use FrontPage for your webcrafting, they are
excellent with those pesky FP extensions!
*And, the email server is non-failing!
Obviously, I am a big fan of theirs.
Their name is HOSTWAY and I believe if you try them,
you will never regret it.
http://hostway.onweb.cx
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*************THIS MONTH'S FEATURE ************
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(7.) VIC'S REGISTRY ROUNDUP & DOS DEN
~~ Vic Ferri, Windows Tips & Tricks
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Note from Linda:
Because I teach the MS Office programs, I am
surrounded by office workers full of questions. Some
questions I get a lot relate to security. "I am going on
vacation and don't want the temp who's sitting at my
desk to access some of my files. How do I prevent this?"
Or, "I have to take some sensitive data home to work on.
How can I keep my roommate from seeing it?" Of course,
I deal with a lot of non-office types also, through my
website, who have a different need for security: "I have
a teenager in my house who is a whiz at snooping in my
computer. How can I stop this?" So, I went to Vic and
sought out his help. Here are his answers for all operating
systems. Thanks, Vic!
***<>***<>***<>***<>***<>***<>***<>***<>***<>***<>***
Windows File and Folder Security
(or Why I Created Lock&Hide)
For those who don't know, I recently released
Lock&Hide, a simple, but effective folder security utility
for Windows 95, 98 and Me. The goal in making this
program was to find an easy way to highly secure data
in Windows 9x. This type of security for sensitive files
and folders is non existent in these Windows operating
systems. Of course, you can set the hidden attribute on
your important files, but that really is a very weak
security level. Anyone can just go to Folder Options
and enable Show All Files.
To achieve any level of worthwhile data security, you
must rely on outside programs to do the job, but most
of these programs have a problem achieving high
security levels in Windows 9x and the reason for that
is the existence of MSDOS. These Windows systems
must use the standard FAT (File Allocation Table) file
systems for their hard disks. As long as there is FAT,
there is DOS, and as long as there is DOS, your data's
security level is compromised. It is very hard to hide
anything in Windows from DOS.
I tested Magic Folders (pc-magic.com), the most
popular and highly touted folder security program in
the world, and was surprised to see how easy it was
in DOS to access any folder secured by this program.
At most it gives you a moderate level of security, which
contradicts the high security claims made by the
devlelopers: "Your invisible folders and files can't be
deleted, viewed, modified, or run". Yet, in testing, it
took less than a minute to fully access a folder hidden
by Magic Folders. We could view, copy, move, rename
and even delete the secured folder!
Other programs were tested as well, and all showed the
same vulnerability.
Anyone with intent, can simply go into DOS and gain full
access to your secured folder and make it fully viewable
and accessible in Windows. And it doesn't require any
advanced DOS knowledge to do this, at all. In fact, it is
very easy. Let's say you have a folder in Windows
named "FINANCES" that was hidden with one of these
programs. One could simply use the rename command
to rename your folder and then go back into Windows,
and there would be your renamed folder fully accessible.
ie: C:\WINDOWS> REN FINANCES EXPOSED
would rename your Finances folder to Exposed and
make it viewable and accessible in Windows. Not
what I would call high security.
This illustrates the point how difficult it can be to hide
from DOS. To be totally secure, no one should be able
to view, access or delete your protected files and folders.
That last one, delete, is often overlooked in security
programs that only password protect or encrypt your
data, without hiding it. As long as your data is visible it
can be tampered with.
Lock&Hide was developed with these points in mind
and is one program that doesn't have these
vulnerabilities, but it still means that you have to rely on
a third party program to achieve any real security level -
moderate or not - in Windows 95, 98 and Me. This is
not the case in Windows 2000 and XP.
Data Security in Windows 2000 and XP
Unlike Windows 9x, Windows 2000 and Windows XP
have the potential to protect your data without the need
for any outside programs. I say potential because it all
depends on the file system you use for your hard drives
and the way you have those drives setup. If you continue
to use the FAT/FAT32 file systems, then there's really no
security advantage. The advantage of these operating
systems is that they allow you to convert your hard drive
to the NT File System (NTFS). With an NT File System
you can restrict access to your data and assign specific
permissions to your files and folders.
NTFS can set security down to individual files within the
same folder.
There is no DOS in an NTFS drive. It is a completely
different file system unique to Windows NT, 2000 and
XP. Other operating systems can't see the local file
systems. Another unique feature of NTFS is that there
is really no limit to partition sizes.
NTFS can provide you with two basic types of security,
network and local. Network security is handled by share
permissions but in this article, we are talking mainly
about local security. Local securtiy is about restricting
access to sensitive and personal data on your hard drive
and keeping it away from prying eyes and other users
of your computer. It's called Local because the security
is limited to the computer holding the resources.
How to Convert Your FAT or FAT32 Disk into NTFS
There are two ways to convert your FAT disk to NTFS -
during install or after install. During install, you are
given the choice to convert your FAT type drive to
NTFS (if it is possible). The nice thing about converting
to NTFS is that it leaves your present data intact - you
do not need to format your hard drive to convert, but if
you have nothing of value on the drive, it's a good idea
to partition and format anyway, just to get a nice, clean
start.
If you decide to forgo converting to NTFS during Setup,
you can always convert your drive to NTFS later by using
CONVERT.EXE This is a command line utility. To use,
simply go to a command prompt and type your drive letter
followed by /fs:ntfs. For example, if it's Drive D: you wish
to convert, you would type:
D: /fs:ntfs
And again, you won't lose any data by doing this conversion.
Realize, however, that once you convert a drive to
NTFS there is no going back to FAT in the same easy
way. You will need to reformat to go back.
Securing Data With NTFS
Once your drive is converted to NTFS, you can begin
setting permissions on the folders you wish to protect.
To do so, right-click the folder you wish to set permissions
on and chose Properties. Click the Security tab, and
then click Permissions. You will then see your options -
you can remove any account, edit the right to a resource,
or click add to allow more users or groups to access the
resource.
The security level offered by NTFS is highest if NTFS is
the only file system on the computer. If MS-DOS is on the
system, such as in a dual boot situation between Windows
95/98 and Windows XP with NTFS, then the security level
weakens drastically as it is quite easy for someone with
intent, to access any of your restricted data, by booting into
MS-DOS and using an easy to create NTFS access disk
that makes the NTFS drive transparent and fully accessible.
Unfortunately, Lock&Hide doesn't work on NTFS, lol, but
if high level security is an issue with you in such a dual boot
situation, you can use something like Lock&Hide to protect
your most important data on the 9x machine. Not only will
that data be more secure this way but anyone after your
data would naturally assume that your confidential files are
on the NTFS drive and not even bother looking through
your FAT drive. ;-)
Microsoft was very aware of this vulnerability as you
can see in this WIn 2k security article excerpt:
"You can restrict access to sensitive information that is
stored on an NTFS partition if Windows 2000 is the only
operating system that can be run and, if the hard drive
cannot be physically removed. If someone really wants to
get at the information, it is not difficult if they can gain
physical access to the computer or hard drive. Availability
of tools that allow access to NTFS files from MS-DOS
and UNIX operating systems makes bypassing NTFS
security even easier. Data encryption is the only solution
to this problem."
http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/howitworks/security/encryp
t.asp
So now we get into data encryption.
EFS
Note: this feature is not available on the Windows XP
Home version.
Windows 2000 and Windows XP Pro ship with EFS
which stands for Encrypted File Security. EFS is
especially good for laptops that can so easily be stolen.
EFS is the maximum "built in" security level you can
attain for your data in these systems, but as you'll see
the real security offered is no greater than the Windows
password you choose to log on with. The reason for this
is that Microsoft chose, for convenience purposes, to
make EFS transparent. With EFS you can easily encrypt
your files and folders with no awareness of the process.
You save and access your data as you normally would
but the data becomes encrypted when you save it.
EFS works in conjunction with NTFS, so naturally, you
need to have your disk formatted to NTFS to be able to
use this file encryption feature. For this method to be
useful you have to set up individual user accounts with
passwords, because any encrypted data is accessible
and viewable by anyone on the same account. This is
what is meant by transparent. This means if you walk
away from your computer, anyone can access your
encrypted data. This becomes very important in a
business workstation where others may access your
computer while you are away and in a home situation
where you wish to protect certain data from prying eyes
and other family members. It is essential you have a
good password and log off whenever you are away from
your computer. This is the primary limitation of EFS -
because of the required convenience and ease of use
factor that Microsoft had to provide, EFS is ultimately no
more secure than the strength of your password. EFS
would be useless without a password. For greater
security, you would need to buy outside programs.
How To Encrypt Files and Folders
Encrypting your files and folders, is as easy as setting
a file or folder attribute, but note that you cannot encrypt
system files (which should go without saying!) This
applies to Lock&Hide, as well.
Right-click the folder or file you wish to encrypt and
choose Properties.
Then click Advanced and select Encrypt Contents.
(NOTE: If the folder is empty, choose Folder only for
Encryption.)
(See online version for image shots in each version.)
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/vic14.htm
Decrypting a File
The only time you would need to decrypt a file with
EFS is if you wanted to give access to it to someone
else. You do not need to decrypt a file to view or edit it
yourself. To actually decrypt is just a matter of right
clicking the file or folder and going back to Properties>
Adavnced and removing the checkmark from the
Encrypt Contents.. box.
TIP
For maximum security, encrypt folders and not individual
files. Doing so causes the files to be created as encrypted
in the folder and theres no rendering of the file to plain
text (if a file alone is encrypted, EFS first copies the file
to a plain readable text file)
Things You Should Know About EFS
The encryption technology used by EFS is key-based.
To be able to encrypt a file using EFS, there must exist
a public and private key but you as a user, don't have
to do anything to get them. These keys are generated
automatically the first time you use EFS. The public
key encrypts the files and the private key decrypts the
files.
This is great in that it makes it so easy to use for the
newbie - no knowledge about encryption is needed at
all. In fact, many users use EFS without even knowing
about the existance of these keys. But, that can also
lead to problems! Say you decide to re-format your
c: drive and re-install Windows XP while having
encrypted data on your d: drive. This would just result
in disaster after you realize you can no longer access
any of your secured files!
That would be the result of not knowing that reinstalling
Windows creates new security identifiers for each user.
Your original keys are replaced with new ones making
your encrypted data unaccessible and the only way to
gain access is by using the Recovery Agent which only
the Administrator has. If you're the Adminstrator on your
own computer, EFS automatically generates recovery
keys and self-signed certificates for you when logging
on, making you, as the local administrator, the default
recovery agent. But you have to KNOW all this to be
able to recover. This ain't the simplicity of Lock&Hide.
LOL
To prevent such disasters, make sure to back up your
personal encryption certificate (your private key) and
the recovery agent certificate to a floppy disk and keep
it in a safe place. It's easy to do but strangely, it's not
mentioned at all during the encryption process.
Here's the official how to:
Backing Up Recovery Keys
1. Click Start>Run, type mmc, and then click OK.
2. On the File menu, click Add/Remove Snap-in, and
then click Add.
3. Under Add Standalone Snap-in, click Certificates,
and then click Add.
4. Click My user account, and then click Finish.
5. Click Close, and then click OK.
6. Double-click Certificates - Current User, double-click
Personal, and then double-click Certificates.
7. Click the certificate that displays the words File
Recovery in the Intended Purposes column.
8. Right-click the certificate, point to All Tasks, and
then click Export. Follow the instructions in the
Certificate Export Wizard to export the certificate and
associated private key to a .pfx file format. Make
sure you export your private keys with them, you will
be asked to password protect your keys (to verify
when importing later on). Save this to a secure
floppy disk
Now when you format or if your keys get damaged all
you have to do is double click on the exported key,
follow the wizard and you should have access to your files.
**********************************************************
Vic Ferri owns the very popular WinTips and Tricks email group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WinTips-Tricks
He is also in charge of the Printing Tips page at
Linda's Computer Stop.
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/printing.htm
ans also the Registry Tips page.
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/vic4.htm
Vic has also created a program which allows you to
Lock & Hide desktop folders in Windows 9X/ME.
Read more and get the free demo here.
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/lh/lockhide.htm
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*****************STATION BREAK*******************
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LOCK&HIDE
from Vic Ferri
High level desktop folder security for Windows 95/98/Me
Keep your personal and most valuable files locked
and hidden from prying eyes, viruses, and other users
of your computer. Easy to use and extremely secure.
Lock&Hide is an extremely easy to use program that
allows you to lock and hide any folder on your desktop.
Folders secured with Lock&Hide cannot be seen, found,
or accessed. Your folders remain totally invisible and
highly secured, yet can be accessed quckly and easily
at any time!
More Info here:
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/lh/lockhide.htm
Screenshots and instructions here:
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/lh/scrnshots.htm
Or download the free demo here
(the demo does not include the "Restore All" feature
or the password protection utility.)
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/lh/demoinf.htm
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(8.) Chas' Word World
Charles Kyle Kenyon, J.D.
**********************************************************
EDITOR'S NOTE: It is recommended that you read
the online version of the following article , which
includes pictures which might make it clearer.
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/chas14.htm
**********************************************************
Styles in Microsoft Word (Part III)
For a while this column will shift its emphasis to Word
fundamentals. Those who want to read ahead are
welcome to look at the Intermediate Users Guide to
Microsoft Word on Chas's site.
http://www.addbalance.com/usersguide/styles.htm
If you do read ahead, and you have questions, please
send them to me so that I might be able to answer
your questions in this column.
mailto:Chas_ABC@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
This follows up on the article Styles in Microsoft Word
(Part I),
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/chas9.htm
and Styles in Microsoft Word (Part II).
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/chas13.htm
If you haven't read these, it is suggested that you do
so before tackling this material.
Styles Overview
If you're concerned about whether or not you need to
learn styles, we can put it rather simply: you do. Styles
are the architecture upon which Word is based. Just
about everything in Word is style-driven. In fact, many
people in the industry refer to Word as a "style-driven"
program.
What we'll cover here:
Creating, Modifying and Locating Your Own Styles
Where styles live - documents & templates
Create, Modify and Locate Your Own Styles
Now that you understand what a style is and what it can
do, it's time to create some styles of your own. Not only
can you create your own styles, you can modify existing
styles to achieve the result you need.
Create a New Style
The easiest way to create a new style is to format text
with the attributes that you want to apply to the style.
It doesn't matter what you type, only what type of
paragraph and character formatting that you have
applied to the text. Formatting is the only thing that is
applied when you apply a style. Although you can
create styles that have more advanced attributes such
as being followed by an entirely different style, the
following exercise shows you just how easy the process
can be.
Practice: Create a Style
Type your first name on a separate line in a document.
Select your name and make the font Blue.
Change the font size to 24-points.
Apply Bold and Underline formatting to the text.
Center the paragraph.
>From the Formatting toolbar, click in the Styles box
(where the style name Normal is usually displayed).
Type your first name.
Press ENTER. This step is important. If you do not
press ENTER your style is not created.
Click the Style drop-down list. You should see your
newly created style.
Test this by typing "This is a test" and applying the new
style.
You can use the Style dialog box to create or modify
a style. Another option for creating and modifying
styles is shown in the following exercise. You create
a new style by typing text and formatting it, and then
from the Format menu, choose Style.
Practice: Create a Style Using The Style Dialog Box
Type the following text:
Styles help users master Microsoft Word. (press ENTER)
Everything in Word is based on a style.
Select the text "Styles help users master Microsoft Word."
and the paragraph mark () that follows.
Center the paragraph and apply a 14-point font.
>From the Format menu, choose Style.
Click New.
Type My Style as the Name.
Click OK, and then click Apply.
Modifying Existing Styles
There are two ways to modify an existing style. One
of these methods is through the Style dialog box.
However, an easier method is by changing the style
by example using the Style drop-down toolbar button.
The Style drop-down is useful if changes have already
been manually made to a paragraph formatted in the
style to be changed. If this is not the case, styles can
be changed using the Style dialog box.
Practice: Two Methods to Modifying a Style
Add several paragraphs to the document from the
previous exercise.
Apply the style that you created to the new text.
Select the text Styles help users in law firms master
Microsoft Word.
>From the Format menu, choose Style.
Click Modify.
Click Format, and then select Font.
Change the font color to Blue and the font size to
20-points.
Close the dialog box and apply the changes that you've
made by clicking Apply. Notice that all text formatted
with My Style updates to show the recent change.
Select the text Microsoft Word.
Change the font size to 36.
Click on the style name in the white part of the Style
toolbar button (not the drop-down arrow) and press
ENTER. It's important to press ENTER and not move
the mouse up or down the list of style names. This
tells Word that you are working with the current style
where the mouse is active. If this step was done
correctly, the following Modify Style dialog box should
display.
You can either choose to Update the style to reflect recent
changes, or Reapply the formatting of the style to the
selection (go back to the original style format). Choose
Update the style to reflect recent changes? And click OK.
TIP: A keyboard shortcut is to press CTRL+SHIFT+S
(to put you in the style drop down box), and then press
ENTER, which will bring up the above dialog.
The style is changed to reflect the formatting of the
selected text and this method is referred to as modifying
by example. Notice how all paragraphs with the style are
updated automatically.
WARNING: I do not recommend selecting the Automatically
update the style box especially in any environment where
multiple users work on the same document. This feature
will update the style each time you make a formatting
change in a paragraph that has a style attached. If your
styles are acting weird, this is the first place to check!
Method 2 - abbreviation addition
Use Format => Styles... to call up the Styles Dialog Box.
Select "Heading 1" and click on the Modify button.
In the name for the style, after "Heading 1" add ",h1" -
that is, a comma and h1. This adds a shortcut or
abbreviation for the style name which you can type into
the style box on the formatting menu instead of the the
full name. If you want to save this change to the Style
in your normal.dot template, you can check the box for
Add to Template.
Click OK.
You can do the same thing for all of the heading styles,
giving each of them an abbreviation, if you want.
Finish by clicking on the "Close" button rather than the
"Apply" button.
If asked when you close Word whether you want to
save the changes you made to the global template
"normal.dot" answer yes. (You should be asked this
question. If you are not, pay attention to future columns
or skip ahead and take a look at Template Basics.)
http://www.addbalance.com/usersguide/templates.htm
You can see why many people prefer the point-and-shoot
method described earlier. When the modify style dialog
box is up, you can click on the Format drop-down button
to modify style settings for paragraph, font, language,
borders & shading, and other settings.
Where Styles Live
A lot of confusion can come from not knowing where
styles are stored and when they are available in
documents. When new documents are created, the
new documents are based on templates.
http://www.addbalance.com/usersguide/templates.htm
The styles contained within these templates are copied
to the new document. Changes made to styles in the
document as well as new styles that you create only
affect that one new document by default. If you want
the change or addition to be added to the template,
you have to tell Word to do so.
Practice: Add it to the Template
>From the Format menu, choose Style.
Click Modify.
Check the option to Add to template. This makes the
style available for any new documents that are based
on that template.
The style is added to the currently attached template.
NOTE: So, any specialized or modified styles in a
template will go into a new document. Any of Word's
built-in styles that weren't modified in a new document's
template will come into the document from the user's
normal.dot template.
Documents that have previously been created based
on this template are not affected when you add a style
to the template. To automatically update style changes
in templates and files previously created based on the
same template, from the Tools menu, choose Templates
and Add-Ins. Select the option to Automatically update
document styles and click OK. I recommend not checking
this option, at least not without a backup copy of your
document. It can produce unexpected results, especially
in documents that must conform to style rules. If you do
check this box, click on Attach and then on OK to close
the dialog box. Then reopen the Templates and Add-Ins
dialog box and uncheck the Update box and click on OK
again, so that the document is not saved with this box
checked.
For an excellent tutorial on styles and a methodical look
at basing styles on one another and reasons not to base
styles on normal, see John McGhie's Create a Template
Part 2.
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/Customization/CreateATemplatePart2.htm
For a sample demonstrating styles based on one another,
use of the style for following paragraph feature, and the
AutoTextList field restricted by styles download my
Letterhead Textboxes and Styles Tutorial.
http://www.addbalance.com
* This article is based largely on the tutorial
"Understanding Styles"
http://www.addbalance.com/usersguide/styles.htm
which, itself is based on the Legal Users Guide to
Microsoft Word. The original Legal Users Guide was
not written by me but rather by a team of experts
gathered by Microsoft. This article uses screen shots
from Word 2000 but the methods and distinctions
discussed hold true for versions of Word from Word
95 through Word 2002.
Keyboard Shortcuts of the Month for Word
Formatting and Styles
Ctrl-SpaceBar
Remove character formatting from selection
Ctrl-Q
Remove direct paragraph formatting.
Ctrl-Shift-S
Style Dropdown or dialog
Ctrl-*
Show All non-printing characters toggle
Ctrl-H
Replace (click on More button to access ability to replace
styles)
Headings
Headings are a special kind of style and are built into
Word at the foundation level. Here are some of the
shortcut keys for them:
Alt-Shift-Left Arrow
Create or promote heading
Alt-Shift-Right Arrow
Create subheading or demote current heading.
Alt-Shift-Up Arrow
When in Outline view, move current heading up.
Alt-Shift-Down Arrow
When in Outline view, move current heading down
Alt-Ctrl-1(-3)
Heading Style 1(-3)
NOTE: The above was changed for Alt-Ctrl-#.
This only works with heading styles 1-3, not 1-9 as
earlier indicated.
**********************************************************
Chas Kenyon is a trial lawyer concentrating in criminal defense
with a long interest (obsession?) with making word processing
work well in the law office. His websites are:
http://www.addbalance.com/index.htm
http://members.aol.com/~marspd/index.html
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*****************STATION BREAK*******************
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<>=====<>=====<>=====<>=====<>=====<>=====<>
(9.) Tina's FrontPage News
~~Tina Clarke, AccessFP - Frontpage Resource Centre
All About FrontPage 2002 Discussion Webs
HOW TO MAKE A DISCUSSION WEB AND INCLUDE
IT IN A CURRENT WEB SITE
A discussion group is a FrontPage web that supports
interactive discussions of topics by users. Users
submit topics by entering text in a form, they search the
group using a search form, and they access articles
using a table of contents.
The easiest way to create a discussion group is by
using the Discussion Web Wizard.
To create a discussion group and include it in your
web site, first open up the website you wish to add a
discussion web to, then:
1. On the FrontPage menu, File | 'Page or Web'
2. Select from the 'New Page or Web' Task Pane | under
'New from Template' | Web Site Templates and a new
dialog box called 'Web Site Templates' will popup up.
Select from the list, Discussion Web Wizard.
3. To add the Discussion web to your main web, tick the
box marked 'Add to current web' under the browse button.
This will add your discussion web to the website your
are in.
4. In the 'Discussion Web Wizard' dialog box that pops
up, press Next then select the main features for your
discussion from the list provided.
You have a choice of:
<> A Table of Contents contains hyperlinks to articles
in the discussion topics. Adding a TOC will enable your
users to find content that is of interest to them.
<> A Search Form lets users search the articles for a
word or phrase.
<> Threaded Replies allow users the choice of either
creating new top-level topics for discussions or
replying to topics in current discussions. (I would click
threaded replies)
<> A Confirmation Page displays a confirmation of an
entry in a discussion to a use.
<> A submission form, which is required and so, is
greyed out.
<> A registration form that lets site visitors log in to the
web site, if the discussion web is protected
NOTE: Only the UNIX operating system allows
registration through a Web browser.
5. Enter the FrontPage web Title of your discussion
group, and the name for the discussion folder. Usually
it is best to leave the FrontPage default name in, but
you don't have to, just make sure you leave the
underscore ( _ ) in and click Next.
6. Choose the input fields for the submission form from
the list provided. Click Next.
You have a choice of:
Subject, Comments
Subject, Category, Comments
Subject, Products, Comments
NOTE: You can always add more fields later if need be.
7. You are now asked if you want the web to be
protected or not. Select whether or not users will be
required to register for the FrontPage discussion web
and click Next. If you select to register users, the
Discussion Web Wizard will create a registration form.
You need to configure and insert the registration form
in your main root FrontPage web to make it available
to users.
NOTE: Only the UNIX operating system allows
registration through a Web browser.
8. Select the sort order for the table of contents and
click next. (Newest to oldest is best)
9. Specify whether or not you want the table of contents
to replace your Home page and click Next. (Say NO you
don't want the discussion web to overwrite your main
web's index page.)
10. Select the settings for the Search form and click next.
You have a choice of:
Subject
Subject, Size
Subject, Size, Date
Subject, Size, Date, Score
NOTE: You can create a search form to let a site visitor
search a specific discussion web site for words or
phrases. If your server finds the search text in the
text index for the specified discussion web site, the
visitor sees a weighted list of hyperlinks to the pages
containing the search text.
A. If your server is using Microsoft Internet Information
Services (IIS), the search form uses the Indexing Service
to search the text index. Indexing Service has more
extensive support for searching non-English systems
and Microsoft Office documents. In Page view, right-click
the search form you want to format, click Search Form
Properties on the shortcut menu, and then click the Search
Results tab. In the Scope of search results section, click
Directory, and then enter the name of the folder containing
the discussion web site to which you want to limit the search.
B. If your server is not using IIS, Microsoft FrontPage
uses the WAIS (Wide Area Information Server) search
engine that is included with FrontPage to search the
text index. In Page view, right-click the search form you
want to format, click Search Form Properties on the
shortcut menu, and then click the Search Results tab.
In the Word list to search box, type the name of a
discussion group folder to limit the search to that folder.
11. Select a frameset (if applicable) in which to display
the discussion group and click next.
You have a choice of:
No Frames
Dual interface - use frames if available, or normal
pages if not
Contents above current article
Contents beside current article
NOTE: The discussion web documents can be
configured for use with browsers supporting frames.
In a framed discussion, users can see the Table of
Contents and the articles at the same time.
Not all browsers support frames. If you select one of
the first two options above, the discussion web will work
with any browser. The last two options are only for
browsers with frames.
I find the last option works best.
12. On any panel of the Discussion Web Wizard, you
can click Finish to create the FrontPage discussion
web using defaults for any settings you did not modify,
at this point you can go back using the back button or
click Finish to conclude the creation of your discussion
web.
13 The discussion web is then created and appears in
your files and folders. In Navigation View, select the file
named disc1_frm.htm and drag it into your navigation
view to include it in your Navigation bars if you use them.
Click on the name of the file in navigation view to select it
and right click and choose 'rename' change to something
more appropriate than 'Frameset for discussion' and then
right click within the navigation view and select apply
changes. The Discussion Web (DW) is then updated.
Next, right click in an open space in Navigation View and
select Web Settings | Advanced Tab | and tick the 'Show
hidden files and folders box' under 'Options'. Click OK and
click Yes when asked to refresh the web. (This will
enable you to edit posted articles.)
Double click the disc1_frm.htm to open or right click
and choose open and customize the DW as needed.
CUSTOMIZING YOUR DISCUSSION WEB
A. HOW TO CONFIGURE FONT AND HEADINGS ON
THE POST RESULTS PAGE
First you need to make a theme and configure the
theme headings, fonts, font size, background and links.
You then apply the theme to all the files within the
Discussion web to maintain a uniform look.
In the root web
disc1_cfrm.htm
disc1_frm.htm
disc1_nav.htm
disc1_post.htm
disc1_srch.htm
disc1_tocf.htm
disc1_welc.htm
In the _borders folder
disc1_aftr.htm
disc1_ahdr.htm
In the _disc1 folder
tocproto.htm
This last file in particular is important, as this is the
post results page.
To make a theme, go to Format | Theme. Select any
theme and, for our purposes, lets say we want a plain
look.
Untick Vivid colors, Active graphics and Background
picture. Then click modify and three buttons will then
be available. Click the Text button. The dialog box
changes to the modify theme mode, click the 'More
Text Style's button. Another dialog box called 'Style'
will pop up. Then click the h1 under Styles and then the
'Modify' button, and then click the 'Format button and
select font from the drop down menu. Now you can
select the font type and you can insert more than one font.
For example, Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans serif. You can
select the colour and the size, plus other features if
wanted. Make your selections and click OK twice and
you are back at the 'Style' Dialog box. Select the next
heading h2 and repeat your configurations and selections.
Do this for other styles you want to configure. When
finished press Ok and Ok again on the 'Modify Theme'
Dialog box. Now you are back at the Themes box. Click
the 'Colors' Button and select the Custom tab. Where
it says 'Item' select your background colour from the
colour box beside it. Then click the drop down menu
next to background and select each of the hyperlinks in
turn and select their colours (Hyperlinks, Followed and
Active).
You can do similar selections to what we have already
done for the headings but there are not as many choices
in this section. Press OK.
Once you have finished configuring your theme click
'Save As' and name your Theme (Do not use the names
of any of the themes you have or they will be overwritten)
Now you can apply the Theme to your files listed above.
Open up each file (for example disc1_post.htm) and click
Format | Theme | make sure 'Selected pages' is ticked
and select your theme from the alphabetical listing of your
themes. Untick Vivid colors, Active graphics and
Background picture and press ok. The theme will then
be applied to your file. Repeat for each of the files above.
Now when visitors post you won't have the ugly default
look of the Discussion Web.
HOW TO RECEIVE AN EMAIL, WHEN SOMEONE
POSTS TO YOUR FRONTPAGE DISCUSSION WEB
Go to Folders View and locate disc1_post.htm (the
number depends on the amount of discussion webs
you have made in any particular Web).
Select the file and double click to open or right click
and press 'Open'
Go to HTML View and locate the following code. (There
will similar sections of code, you want the one that is last
in the line of code)
url="disc1_?.htm" --> (Where I have put ? indicates the
page file name, depending on how you set up your DW
it could be post or cfrm or other files names in the DW,
so just look for this line of code which comes last in the
sequence.)
Insert DIRECTLY before the --> end comment arrow
the following code:
S-Email-Address="Tina@xxxxxxxxxxxx" S-Email-Format="TEXT/PRE"
So the end of the code should now look something like
this. As mentioned above, where ? is inserted in the
code below, will indicate the file name you have last in
your code depending on how you set up your DW.
url="disc1_?.htm" s-email-address="Tina@xxxxxxxxxxxx"
s-email-format="TEXT/PRE" -->
NOTE: Things you MUST do:
Cut and paste the code to notepad and then reselect
and cut & paste to HTML View.
Change the email address to your own.
REQUIRE POSTERS TO INSERT EMAIL AND SITE
ADDRESSES
If you require your visitors to leave their email or site
URLs, you can insert scrolling text boxes via Insert |
Form | Textarea. Next, select the scrolling text box and
mouse over one of the selection points, then pull the
box out to the size you want.
Next right click and choose Form Field Properties.
Where it says Initial Value insert the text mailto:
Next click Validate and tick the box marked required.
For the site URL scrolling text box do the same but
insert http:// this time in Initial Value.
If you wanted to make your own 'URL of Validation
Failure Page' the option is now ungreyed.
PRESENT YOUR RULES FOR POSTING IN THE
WELCOME PAGE
Open the disc_welc.htm file and add your content
MODERATING YOUR DISCUSSION WEB
First Open the web live
Open up FrontPage and close down any webs you
have open.
To open the site live
File | Open | on the pop up box click 'Web Folders' on
the left hand menu. Insert the URL of the site you wish
to open
e.g.: http://www.accessfp.net/
A box will appear asking for your username and
password. Insert them and press OK. In FrontPage,
click on the navigation view so you know when the
site will fully load.
Next go to Tools | Web Settings
1. In the Advanced tab, select 'Show Documents in
Hidden Directories'.
2. Click OK.
3. On the View menu, choose Refresh.
4. Change to the Folders view to see the pages (named
0001.htm, 0002.htm, etc.) created by users.
Do not delete offending articles. Open them up and type
a standard message replacing the article body, such as
"[Deleted Article]." This will protect forward and backward
hyperlinks to other articles in the thread.
TIPS:
1. Be sure to close all files and go to Tools | Recalculate
Hyperlinks BEFORE publishing after all your tweaking.
2. When you want to move your site to another host,
download your site first so you can take your posts with
you. The posts reside on the host server, NOT on your
hard drive where your local web resides. So you must
first download the site and then you can republish to
your new host.
**********************************************************
Tina Clarke is the Webmaster of AccessFP - FrontPage
Resource Centre
http://accessfp.net
and an editor of "AnyFrontPage Bytes Ezine". Subscribe to
the FrontPage ezine and get FREE FrontPage E-Books upon
joining.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AnyFrontPageBytes
<>=====<>=====<>=====<>=====<>=====<>=====<>
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*****************STATION BREAK*******************
^-.,.-^-.,.-^-.,.-^-.,.-^-.,.-^-.,.-^-.,.-^-.,.-^-.,.-^-.,.-^-.,.-
Do you want to know the latest on FrontPage? Do you want
Tips, news, articles, links and ebooks on FrontPage? Well the
AnyFrontPage Bytes Ezine is the best place for your FrontPage
and web crafting needs, join up at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AnyFrontPageBytes
Are you looking for resources for FrontPage? Want to know
where all the best FP links are? The hosts, the lists, the forums?
Use AccessFP - FrontPage Resources Centre as the start site
for your FrontPage Information facts.
http://accessfp.net
<>=====<>=====<>=====<>=====<>=====<>=====<>
NOTE FROM LINDA: If you haven't been to Tina's
site lately, you have to go there now and see how
nicely she's renovated it. Looks great and it's really
well organized so you can find all the wonderful stuff
she has there.
<>=====<>=====<>=====<>=====<>=====<>=====<>
(10.) Mike's Safety Belt
~~ Mike Baynes, MikesWhatsNews
Email Security and Attachments
Do you frequently receive email with interesting subject
lines and attachments?
Be careful, many viruses will come to you this way.
They may even come from people you know.
Some of the new viruses can obtain addresses to send
themselves to, from email in the inbox of an infected
person's computer, or their address book, or the
addresses contained in an email.
The 'Klez worm' has even managed to get into one of
the email lists I subscribe to, which requires a
confirmation email to verify that the person actually did
subscribe. Fortunately the list did not allow attachments,
and the moderators spotted the action immediately.
Many email list/groups require that you use Plain Text,
rather than Rich Text or HTML to avoid 'Scripts' hidden
in the message.
See Visual Basic Script virus ~
http://www.sophos.com/virusinfo/articles/glossary.html#vbsvirus
You should be wary of all attachments in your email.
If you receive one from someone you know, email them
before you open it to be sure they sent it. If you are
sending someone an attachment, right click the
attachment to obtain the file size. Then send them a
email to let them know the name and file size of the
attachment. Ask your friends to do the same when they
send you an attachment.
I recommend scanning all attachments with a recently
updated AV program. I check my AV program every
morning when I start my computer, just in case a new
virus update has been created to catch a virus which
I was not aware of.
Just because you have an Anti-Virus program installed
does not mean you will be protected. You must have the
'Email Scanning' enabled. HackFix has a series of pages
on setting up (configuring) most of the more common
Anti Virus programs here:
Software reviews - Configuration Section
http://www.hackfix.org/software/configure/
If you do not have an Anti Virus program, here are some
links to some freeware programs:
AntiVir ~ http://www.free-av.com/
Tauscan is free for 30 days and removes most Trojans ~
http://www.agnitum.com/
There are also several on line virus scans available,
but not all of them are capable of a removing virus.
In fact, some viruses will prevent you from accessing
Anti Virus sites, and updates.
Trend Micro's free online virus scanner
http://housecall.antivirus.com/housecall
Symantec (Norton Anti-virus) Security Check - Free on-line scan
http://security1.norton.com/us/intro.asp?venid=sym&langid=us
I also list several of the Anti Virus/trojan/Firewall programs
And links on page 4 of my Virus Info pages;
http://www3.bc.sympatico.ca/mikebike/hackfix_program_updates.htm
**********************************************************
Mike Baynes is the editor of MikesWhatsNews.
To subscribe, send a blank email to
mikeswhatsnews-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?Subject=subscribe.
See Mike's Anti-Virus pages ~ http://virusinfo.hackfix.org
To subscribe, send a blank email to:
virusinfo-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?Subject=subscribe
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*****************STATION BREAK*******************
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Are you into Video Computing?
VIDEOMAKER is the world's most popular monthly consumer
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teach production techniques, survey and review the latest
equipment, and explain the newest technological advances.
Published monthly, and is available on select newsstands and
to subscribers. In addition, you receive a password giving you
full access to Club VId, Videomaker's vast online resource of
information about making video.
And the best part is, it's CHEAP! Only $14.97 for 13 issues!
http://www.angelfire.com/rnb/vxdoin/VideoMaker.html
<>=====<>=====<>=====<>=====<>=====<>=====<>
(11.) CHAD'S MACRO MANIA
~~Chad K. Welch
BuiltInDocumentProperties in Word
Wow, another month is upon us. Was it just me or did
June just fly by? This month we will be discussing
Microsoft Word's VBA, specifically the built in document
properties. Murali from India sent me the following
request:
Hello Mr. Chad...
I am a computer consultant from India, and I do take
up small time projects...I was really struck where I
had to get the no. of pages in an Excel worksheet thru
VBA, and I found your solution given in
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/chad8.htm
page, to be very correct and was very helpful to me.
I have another query where I need to get the no. of
pages in an MSWord document thru VBA...hope you
can mail me the solution as soon as possible, as I
am struck with it.
Thanks,
Regards,
Murali
Thank you, Murali. That is a very good question. The
page numbers are actually much easier to access and
use in Word, as we will see. However, if you don't know
how to find them the search can be a bear.
There is a collection in Word's Object Model called
DocumentProperties. That collection can be broken into
two parts: custom properties and built in properties. As
luck would have it the number of pages is saved in the
built in properties. To access it just use the line:
ActiveDocument.BuiltInDocumentProperties(wdPropertyPages)
Incidentally there are several properties that are built into
word that can be accessed. For example:
wdPropertyTitle Title wdPropertyCharacters Number of characters
wdPropertySubject Subject wdPropertySecurity Security
wdPropertyAuthor Author wdPropertyCategory Category
wdPropertyKeywords Keywords wdPropertyFormat Format
wdPropertyComments Comments wdPropertyManager Manager
wdPropertyTemplate Template wdPropertyCompany Company
wdPropertyLastAuthor Last author wdPropertyBytes Number of bytes
wdPropertyRevision Revision number wdPropertyLines Number of lines
wdPropertyAppName Application name wdPropertyParas Number of paragraphs
wdPropertyTimeLastPrinted Last print date wdPropertySlides Number of
slides
wdPropertyTimeCreated Creation date wdPropertyNotes Number of notes
wdPropertyTimeLastSaved Last save time wdPropertyHiddenSlides Number of
hidden Slides
wdPropertyVBATotalEdit Total editing time wdPropertyMMClips Number of
multimedia clips
wdPropertyPages Number of pages wdPropertyHyperlinkBase Hyperlink base
wdPropertyWords Number of words wdPropertyCharsWSpaces Number of
characters (with spaces)
Sometimes it is beneficial to create a summary sheet of
a document. The following macro will create one:
Sub SummarySheet()
Dim CurrentDoc As Document
Dim SummDoc As Document
Dim Prop As DocumentProperty
Set CurrentDoc = ActiveDocument
Set SummDoc = Documents.Add
On Error Resume Next
For Each Prop In CurrentDoc.BuiltInDocumentProperties
SummDoc.Content.InsertAfter Prop.Name & " = "
SummDoc.Content.InsertAfter Prop.Value
SummDoc.Content.InsertParagraphAfter
Next
Set CurrentDoc = Nothing
Set SummDoc = Nothing
End Sub
Here is the results of that macro (of course the word count,
paragraphs and etc. are counted before the following was
pasted so it isn't included in the statistics):
Title = BuiltInDocumentProperties in Word
Subject =
Author = Chad K Welch
Keywords =
Comments = Details of the BuiltInDocumentProperties of
the Word Object Model
Template = Normal.dot
Last author = Chad K Welch
Revision number = 8
Application name = Microsoft Word 10.0
Last print date =
Creation date = 7/4/2002 8:56:00 AM
Last save time = 7/6/2002 12:01:00 AM
Total editing time = 61
Number of pages = 2
Number of words = 434
Number of characters = 2669
Security = 0
Category = ABC Computers
Format =
Manager =
Company = VBA Magic
Number of bytes = 43008
Number of lines = 115
Number of paragraphs = 90
Number of slides =
Number of notes =
Number of hidden Slides =
Number of multimedia clips =
Hyperlink base =
Number of characters (with spaces) = 3112
**********************************************************
Chad K. Welch works as a technician/enabler in Utah. He is
available for consulting or application programming with
Microsoft Office and VBA. Contact him directly for more
information at chad@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
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(12.) STEVE'S RAVIN' REVIEWS
~~Steve Mills
It's summertime and I'm in low gear. I don't know whether
it was me or the authors, but I had a hard time finding good
stuff this time. (Patting myself on the back) eventually we
came up with good stuff. A varied combination of usable stuff.
Stay Cool!
Your suggestions are welcome and encouraged.
Take Care...
Steve
steve@xxxxxxxx
***<>***<>***<>***<>***<>***<>***<>***<>***<>***<>***
THIS MONTH'S REVIEWS
Random Tagline Manager ... 5 geezers
Google Toolbar ... 6 geezers
NoteTab Light ... 6 geezers
Reversi ... 5 geezers
<screen captures of the software interfaces online>
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/steve14.htm
***<>***<>***<>***<>***<>***<>***<>***<>***<>***<>***
Program: Random Tagline Manager
Version and Date: 4.4.2 05-18-02
Author: Frank Brower
Web Site: http://programs.fbrower.com/
Freeware
Rating: 5 Geezers
OK! I amuse easily, but I find some of the best stuff written
today at the bottom of emails - the infamous tag line.
There are a number of managers available and this one by
Frank Brower is one of the best. All take a little effort to set
up, but you should be cooking in well under an hour. The
program comes with a database of over 6,000 tags, which
you can modify to your liking.
-<> Ability to create Text, HTML, and RTF tagline files
-<> Randomize taglines, or use a single tagline, from
selected database
-<> Center taglines on line(with and w/o word wrap)
-<> Change color of displayed tagline(HTML & RTF files
only
-<> Change font of displayed tagline(HTML & RTF files
only)
-<> Change size of font in displayed tagline(HTML & RTF
files only)
-<> Display border around tagline
-<> Works with Multiple users(each with their own
settings)
-<> Display date in tagline with a variety of options,
even Random, and Roman Numerals
-<> Append, Edit, or Replace tagline(s) in current
tagline database
-<> Copy tagline file to a second directory(helpful if
using two separate user profiles using same tagline
file)
-<> Edit custom signature file(like a blueprint for how the
tagline file will be saved)
-<> Works with most Email programs(except for Web
Based Email, like AOL)
***<>***<>***<>***<>***<>***<>***<>***<>***<>***<>***
Program: Google Toolbar
Version and Date: 1.1.57
Author: Google
Web Site: http://toolbar.google.com/
License: Freeware
Rating: 6 Geezers
At one time I heard a lot of argument about the best
search engines. Today, it seems like more and more
Internet users are convinced Google is the king.
Searchers there seem to be almost mystically accurate.
The Google Toolbar sits as a browser toolbar (Internet
Explorer 5 or higher) and is always available for quick
searching.
Lots of usable features:
-<> Google Search: Access Google's search technology
from any web page.
-<> Search Site: Search only the pages of the site you're
visiting.
-<> PageRank: See Google's ranking of the current page.
-<> Page Info: Access more information about a page
including similar pages, pages that link back to that
page, as well as a cached snapshot.
-<> Highlight: Highlight your search terms as they appear
on the page; each word in its own color.
-<> Word Find: Find your search terms wherever they
appear on the page.
Another nice thing is the toolbar takes up very little space
for what it does.
***<>***<>***<>***<>***<>***<>***<>***<>***<>***<>***
Program: NoteTab Light
Version and Date: 4.9 06-10-02
Author: Fookes Software
Web Site: http://www.notetab.com/ntl.htm
License: Freeware
Rating: 6 Geezers
Last month I covered my favorite text editor, UltraEdit.
At that time I said there are many fine alternatives
available. One such example is this fine freeware editor,
NoteTab Light. It is the free version of a series of 3
produced by Fookes Software.
I'm not going to try and cover its many features. It has
macros, an internal clip system, help files and on and on.
I've never seen a better piece of free software. The paid
versions top out at only $19.95. Give this a try!
***<>***<>***<>***<>***<>***<>***<>***<>***<>***<>***
Program: Reversi
Version and Date: 1.1 3/18/02
Author: ArtPol Software
Web Site: http://www.artpol-software.com/index_software.html
License: Freeware
Rating: 5 Geezers
I like games that aren't brain busters. I remember when
Othello came out, the slogan was "a minute to learn -
a lifetime to master". A true statement.
This is just a nice implementation - and it's free:
-<> Play human vs human or human vs computer
-<> Network play (through the Internet or a local network)
-<> Varied levels for the computer game
-<> OpenGL graphics (nice but a fast machine is needed)
or GDI
-<> You can change the angle of view with arrows keys
in the OpenGL mode while playing
-<> Save, restore and edit (use left and right mouse
buttons) the game layout
-<> Move undo possible
-<> Customizable colors
***<>***<>***<>***<>***<>***<>***<>***<>***<>***<>***
Final Thought:
The whole world looks like a nail when all you have
is a hammer.
**********************************************************
Steve Mills currently does clerical work with a search engine
consulting firm and has been reviewing software in different
capacities for many years.
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(13.) Hal's Hardware Haven
~~ Hal Cardona, PC Sleuth
**********************************************************
EDITOR'S NOTE: It is recommended that you read
the online version of the following article , which
includes pictures which might make it clearer.
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/hal14.htm
**********************************************************
How To Troubleshoot Your PC
In this issue, I am going to talk about troubleshooting
your Windows PC. It really isn't all that hard to do, if
you follow some simple steps.
The first thing is to be prepared, just like I learned in
Boy Scouts. Preparation starts by knowing your PC.
You need to know what hardware and software you
are using, preferably before a problem crops up.
To find out what hardware is installed in your PC you
can often look at the invoice or packing label from your
PC's manufacturer. If you can't find it or your PC didn't
come with a hardware list, you can use a 3rd party
application. My favorite for determining what hardware
is installed is the Belarc Advisor, which is free and
available here:
http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html
The next thing to do is to find out what Operating System
(OS) and what version of it you are using. You can do
this in Windows by right clicking on My Computer and
selecting properties.
If you are using any version of Windows, Microsoft has
integrated Internet Explorer (IE) in to it, so it helps to
know what version of IE you are using. You can find
out by opening IE and dropping down help from the
menu bar and selecting About Internet Explorer.
One crucial ingredient is: What causes the problem?
You need to know what software is running, what
software you are using and exactly what you were
doing leading up to the problem.
The last thing that I use that really helps me is a
notebook. Paper and pencil can really help here.
Remember you may not have access to your computer
while you are fixing it, so having a hard copy is essential.
I keep a file folder for each of my customer's computers.
In it I keep a list of all the hardware and software
installed. Take notes, write down what you're doing and
why. If you make a mistake and make things worse, your
notes should allow you to reverse the change that caused
the problem. When I am done troubleshooting a system,
I add my notes from that session to customers folder so
I have written history of what's been done to the computer.
Let's get to the nitty gritty of troubleshooting.
The most likely cause to any problem is the last piece
of hardware or software that you installed. If you just
installed a brand new pop-up stopper and now you find
you can't access some of your favorite websites.
Chances are the pop-up stopper is the culprit; usually
removing it will correct the problem.
If the hardware or program is something you feel that
you can't live without, then you need to try and correct
the problem. The first thing to do is try the manufacturer's
website and read any Frequently Asked Questions
(FAQs) they have regarding your hardware or software.
This where knowing your system can help, in the FAQ
you could learn the pop-up stopper requires a certain
version for the video card driver if you are running a
3Dfx Voodoo 6000 video card.
You should also look for any patches or new drivers
while you are there. With so many different computer
configurations out there, it is impossible for a
manufacturer to test on all of them prior to releasing a
product, you may find your cure in an available patch
or updated driver.
Ok. That was the easy stuff. What do you do if the
problem starts out of the blue, your system has been
stable, but it is crashing?
The first thing I do is reboot. I've found simply shutting
down the system for about 30 seconds can often correct
the error. This is particularly effective for problems that
are related to System Resources (for more information
on System Resources, see my article on them here:
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/hal3.htm ).
If the problem is fixed, great. If it recurs right away or
later, then we need to locate the cause.
Now we need to determine if the problem is with
hardware or software.
Hardware problems usually happen without regard to
what you are doing. For example, if your PC reboots
randomly after 30 minutes of use, then the problem is
probably hardware related. Software problems usually
manifest themselves as error codes or crashes that
happen only when do certain things. For example, if
your PC crashes each time you launch Microsoft Word
the problem is usually related to Word. Of course,
these are very general statements and every problem
is unique.
<> If you can't boot your PC, pay attention when you turn
it on.
<> If it makes it to a Windows Start-up screen or past
the initial BIOS screen, then your hardware is booting
OK.
<> If it doesn't make it that far, then you have probably
added some new hardware or had some of your existing
hardware fail. The first thing to check is power, make
sure your PC is plugged in and that the outlet has power.
A cheap lamp works great for this test. If you're sure
you have power, try setting your CMOS to boot from the
floppy drive and put a floppy in it. If you boot or get an
Operating System not found error, then the problem is
probably either with Windows or the Hard Drive
subsystem.
<> If you've added new hardware, remove it and try to
boot. If it works then try your new hardware in a different
slot. It may work. If it doesn't, then you probably have
an IRQ conflict. To troubleshoot an IRQ conflict, boot to
Windows with the new hardware removed and check the
properties for My Computer in the Device Manager, then
choose to View Resources by Type, and look for a free
IRQ. If there aren't any free then you will need to either
share an IRQ or free one up. Not all devices are capable
of sharing an IRQ, so be careful. To free one up you will
need to either rearrange your other devices so that they
are sharing an IRQ or disable or remove one of your
existing devices. You can often free an unused IRQ by
disabling one or both of your serial ports in the BIOS
(only do this if you aren't using one or both of them
though!). IRQs for PCI cards are assigned by the
motherboard's BIOS, so if you to move a PCI card to a
new IRQ, try putting it in a different PCI slot.
<> If you haven't added any new hardware recently,
but your computer still doesn't make it to the Windows
boot screen, try removing the case from your computer,
take a look inside and make sure that all the wires and
cards are firmly connected. If everything looks OK at this
point turn your computer on and look at the fans, make
sure they are spinning freely. If one or more of them isn't,
replace it and try again.
<> If things still won't get to the Windows screen, listen
when you turn it on. Make sure that you hear the fans,
and the Hard Drive. If you here anything that sounds
out of place, try to identify it's source, I recently found a
cheap power supply that was keeping the PC from
booting by listening and locating a soft high pitched
whine coming from it. Hold your hand over the opening
in the back of the power supply, and make sure that you
feel air coming out when your PC is on, if don't your
power supply fan has failed or you need a new power
supply.
WARNING - DON'T DISCONNECT OR DO ANYTHING
INSIDE THE PC UNLESS YOU ARE GROUNDED AND
THE PC IS DISCONNECTED FROM POWER. PULL THE
PLUG. DON'T JUST TURN IT OFF!!
<> If it still isn't making it to the Windows boot screen,
start removing and disconnecting things, make notes or
take a picture before you do though so you can put things
back where they were. Now, I remove and reseat all
the cards. Try it. The next step is removing all cards
except the video card from the PC. Try it, if it gets to the
Windows boot screen then you have a bad card, start
adding the cards you removed one at a time until you
can't boot. If it works with all the cards, then you had a
loose card. If it still doesn't work, try removing and
reseating your memory. Still no go, try removing your
memory cards, you may need to remove them in a
specific pattern, so check your motherboard documentation.
Don't just remove them, try swapping them around too.
Now try a different Video card if you have one, and,
if your current card fits an AGP slot, then try a PCI
based card.
<> If you still aren't making it to the Windows boot
screen, it is time to try disconnecting your hard, floppy
and CD-ROM drives, once you disconnect your HD
you will not be able to get to a Windows boot screen,
so pay attention after you disconnect it and see if you
get an Operating System Not Found error. If you do,
you will probably need to replace the Hard Drive, it's
IDE cable, or your Hard Drive Controller. You may
need to set a partition as active or recreate your
Operating Systems boot sector.
When you are troubleshooting hardware, it really helps
to have some spare parts around to swap out. The
easiest way to find a bad cable is to try one that you
know is good, the same thing goes for memory and
other components.
I think we've covered enough for this article (besides,
I now have the other half already written for Linda).
See you next time!
To be continued.....
**********************************************************
Hal Cardona, PC Sleuth, serves as tech support and/or
offsite Sys Admin for over 200 clients around the US.
He designs, builds, and troubleshoots networks and
builds custom computer systems.
http://www.pcsleuth.com
<>=====<>=====<>=====<>=====<>=====<>=====<>
(14.) GuitarMan's Outlook Express Tip of the Month
~~ PCTechTalk's G Man
Easy Way To Make a "Template" in OE
If you have a highly formatted email message that needs
to be sent out more than once (such as a list of rules for
an email list, images and descriptions from the latest
family reunion or an announcement of someone's
birth including pictures), here's a suggestion for saving
yourself a whole lot of work.
1. Create the entire message using Rich Text
(Format/Rich Text), including all text and image
formatting to get it exactly the way you want it to look.
Type in the subject line you wish to use and make sure
it's set to use the correct email address in the From:
field (this will be one of your own email addresses).
Just be sure that you don't put anyone's address in the
To: field.
2. Before sending it off to someone, click on 'File' and
then 'Save As' and save it with a descriptive name to
your My Documents folder (such as 'My Grand Canyon
Trip'). You might even want to create a new subfolder
under My Documents to hold them if you expect to be
making a few of these. The resulting file will have a .eml
extension once it's been saved.
3. Open up Windows Explorer, make your way to the
My Documents folder and locate the file you just saved.
Use your right mouse button to drag the file onto your
desktop or QuickLaunch taskbar (I prefer the QuickLaunch
taskbar location). When you get there, let go of the mouse
button and a menu will appear. Choose "Create Shortcut(s)
Here".
>From now on, you can click on this shortcut to open up
a new email message that's already ready already. All
you need to do is personalize it (Hi Frank,), address it
(with Frank's email address) and click on the Send button.
This method is a LOT easier than recreating the whole
thing for everyone who deserves to see the new
baby/Graduation pictures/etc.
**********************************************************
G Man runs a free, 24-hour-a-day email tech list, called
PCTechTalk, where you can submit any questions you
have about computer hardware & software. You can
request fixes for specific problems you're having with
your computer or just sit back and learn from the
conversations of the other members. This group truly
caters to newbies and nerds alike, so you can be assured
that your questions will be taken seriously. To join, visit
the group's homepage here:
//www.freelists.org/webpage/pctechtalk
<>=====<>=====<>=====<>=====<>=====<>=====<>
(15.) Checking Your Message - Effective Web Copy
~~ By Tom Neuman ~ Medium Blue Internet Marketing
Dale Carnegie said, "Talk in terms of the other man's
interests."
Writing effective web copy begins with a clear
understanding of the goals and objectives of your
internet strategy. Are you trying to persuade the visitor
to buy something? Are you trying to get them to sign up
for your newsletter? Perhaps you want them to join your
organization or simply learn more about your service
so that they will call your 800 number. The common
theme with all of these web strategies is that you are
trying to get someone you have never met and can't
see to take a step toward building a relationship with
you or your organization.
Typical website copy uses a great deal of prime real
estate telling the web audience how wonderful the
organization is. Imagine going to a party and meeting
someone who talks endlessly about himself. He talks
about his job, his family, his interests. How long will you
stand there and listen before politely excusing yourself?
Now imagine the party guest who seems more interested
in you- your family, your job, your interests. Wouldn't you
react more favorably? It's very similar on the Internet.
It is very tempting to write web copy that is focused on
your company. Your first thought is probably something
like, "I have to tell them who I am. They don't know
anything about me." In reality, they don't care! (At least
not in the first few seconds). Most web users are on a
mission to find as much information as quickly as possible
about the product or service they need because they want
to make a decision. If they find your page, the first thing
they want to know - even before bothering with anything
else - is how they will benefit from buying (subscribing,
calling, joining). You need to answer that question clearly
and concisely within seconds or you will lose that visitor
(maybe forever). If you can't cut through the selfish copy,
the clutter, the fancy graphics, and communicate the value
you offer that nobody else offers, they will go somewhere
else- and likely never come back.
Here are 3 additional ideas to help with effective web copy:
1. Create an effective Unique Selling Proposition (USP):
A USP is the statement (2-3 sentences at most) that
explains why you are different than everyone else. This
is the unique factor that sets you apart from your
competition. Make this the first thing your visitor sees.
2. Write about what you offer. Focus on benefits (not
features) and de-emphasize your organization. The
Website visitor needs to understand the value in a
relationship with you.
3. Use your copy to help steer your visitor down an
intended path. This can be accomplished by placing
your "Point of action" near benefits-related text, making
it easier for your visitors to take action at that moment.
**********************************************************
Tom Neuman is a Senior Partner with Medium Blue
Internet Marketing (http://www.mediumblue.com). For
monthly tips on how to get the most out of your internet
presence, sign up for the Medium Blue Internet
Marketing newsletter at
http://www.mediumblue.com/newsletters
<>=====<>=====<>=====<>=====<>=====<>=====<>
(16.) Is Your Website Optimized for Search Engines?
~~ By Scott Buresh ~ Medium Blue Internet Marketing
For the technically inclined, there are numerous places
on the web to get detailed, in-depth information on how
to properly optimize a web site for the best possible
search engine rankings. However, many people don't
care about the technical aspects of search engine
optimization- they just want to know what is wrong with
their site (and how to fix it). What follows is a practical
guide that covers some of the most basic search engine
issues. It is in no way intended to be comprehensive,
but it should help the average site owner determine
whether their site is optimized, and if not, how to make
some simple changes to improve their search engine
rankings.
Issue #1- The Title Bar
On your homepage, what does the title bar say? If you
use Internet Explorer, this is the blue bar at the extreme
top of the window that displays your page (it may include
the words "Microsoft Internet Explorer" at the end). Does
your company name appear here by itself, when you
have more important keywords to emphasize? Worse yet,
does it say "untitled"? This area should contain the most
important keywords you see on your homepage (Don't
have any text on your homepage? See issue #2). To
check the rest of your site, click on any link from your
homepage and see if the words in this title bar change for
each page in your site. They should- and each title bar
should contain the most important keywords from their
corresponding page. Note: Very long keyword strings in
the title bar should be avoided- six words or less is optimal.
Also, words in the title bar should not repeat more than
once, and identical words should not appear next to one
another.
Issue #2- Content
Search engines all try to list sites that contain good
content. Translation- you need words on your pages,
not flashy graphics. This text should contain the most
important keywords that your potential customers would
use to find you on a search engine. If you have very few
or no words on your pages, it is a good idea to add some,
ideally around 250 per page. For aesthetic reasons, this
is not always practical, but even 100 well-written words
can have an impact on rank. It is also important that you
make certain that the words are written in a language the
search engines can read. Using your mouse, bring your
cursor down to the text on one of your web pages.
Clicking and holding down the left mouse button (make
sure you aren't near a link) see if you can highlight just
one or two words of the text. If you can, everything is
most likely fine. If nothing happens, or you can only
highlight a large block, it is most likely in graphic form.
Graphic text needs to be replaced by standard html text
to allow the search engines to read it. Your web expert
should have no problem understanding what you require,
and the transition should be fairly simple and affordable.
Issue #3- Meta Tags
Some people believe that meta tags are the Holy Grail
of search engine optimization. Unfortunately, their
effectiveness is limited (many engines ignore them
completely), but they can play a limited role in
determining rank on some engines. To see if your site
has meta tags, go to your home page. Click the "view"
command at the top of the browser window. From the
pull-down menu, select "source". This should open up
another window that shows your code. Much of this may
seem indecipherable, but there should be two commands
there (usually near the top of the code). One of these
says meta name="description" content= and will go on
to describe your company and products, and one says
meta name="keywords" content= and goes on to list
applicable keywords for your site. If these tags are
missing, have your web expert insert them.
Issue #4- Links
Link popularity has become increasingly important to
search engine rankings, with 19 of the top 20 engines
using it in their ranking algorithm. Simply put, search
engines give a ranking boost to sites that have incoming
links from quality, related sites. There are numerous free
tools on the web that will allow you to see what sites link
to yours (just type "free link popularity check" in your
favorite search engine). If you don't have many sites
linking to yours, it may be time to start a link building
campaign. This is where you find quality, non-competing
sites in your industry and ask them if they would like to
exchange links. An additional benefit of link exchanges
is that these links can bring you additional, highly targeted
traffic.
Conclusion
Although following the above guidelines will by no means
guarantee you top page rankings for your keywords,
fixing one or more of the problems should have a very
positive impact on your search engine rankings. For the
volumes of potential customers that a search engine can
send to your site, it's certainly worth the effort.
**********************************************************
Scott Buresh is co-founder and principal of Medium Blue
Internet Marketing. For more helpful tips, visit
http://www.mediumblue.com
For a free search engine analysis, please visit
http://www.mediumblue.com/analysis.html
<>=====<>=====<>=====<>=====<>=====<>=====<>
(17.) How to Invest in Your Online Marketing Today
~~ By Scott T. Smith ~ LinkageXpress
Most Web business owners have limited marketing
resources, so it only makes sense to invest in marketing
that really works. Today the top two ways people find
what they want online are through search indexes, and
through links.
Which means, search engine optimization (SEO) and
targeted link building are the top marketing tactics today
that are worth your investment. You can certainly
choose one or the other, but here's why we recommend
you do both:
SEO services are all about getting you the best possible
search engine positioning. Although search engines are
used by close to 80% of the population online today to
find resources, currently they index less than 40% of the
Internet overall. Which means that more than 60% of all
Internet resources cannot be found through the search
engines at all.
This raises the question: 'If people can't find the
resources they want through search engines and
directories, how DO they find them and where do they
look?'
The answer is, 'through links'. After search indexes,
this is the 2nd most popular way to find anything online,
and opens the door to a much higher percentage of the
Internet's resources than search indexes can offer.
Targeted link building finds the sites where your market
gathers, then works to establish a direct link from those
sites to yours. In this way it brings you one step closer
to reaching your target markets - the people frequenting
sites in your market niche.
And because targeted links enhance your listings with
the top 19 search engines and directories today, you'll
become a more visible and a recognized player in your
niche market. SEO and link building combine in a
symbiotic relationship, and it works to your advantage.
Can you see why you need to invest in both site
optimization and link building? Targeted link building
reaches out to the online community to find your target
audience and build your network, while an SEO
campaign enhances and effectively submits your Web
site assets.
So make the investment. Do BOTH site optimization
and targeted link building. Concentrate on these two
areas of your marketing online to put your products
and services before the most 'buying eyes' and gain
the widest possible reach. Invest in your online
marketing today and you are investing in a bright
future, because your Web site is an asset that grows.
**********************************************************
Scott T. Smith runs LinkageXpress, the hand-tailored
link popularity service for commercial business Web
sites. Get properly linked within your niche market,
attract pre-qualified site visitors prone to buy what you
offer, and improve your search index listings.
For a FREE link popularity consultation, visit
http://www.linkagexpress.com
SEOs call 1.800.798.4471
<>=====<>=====<>=====<>=====<>=====<>=====<>
<>=====<>=====<>=====<>=====<>=====<>=====<>
Well, gang.....that's about it for this edition of
ABC ~ All 'Bout Computers. I sure hope you enjoyed it! If
any of it was over your head and you need some clarification
from one of the Fleet, just send me an email to
linda@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx and I will pass it on
to them. Remember that they do this in their spare time on
a voluntary basis, so you might have to wait for an answer.
To make all things work more quickly, include as many details
as you can in your email and make your questions as specific
as possible. Also, feel free to write to me and let us know
what you want the Fleet to teach you. This is YOUR newsletter!
Happy computing, my friends!
Linda Johnson
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com
**********************************************************
READ THIS CAREFULLY!
**********************************************************
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All advice given in this newsletter/ezine or at Linda's
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http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com
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Other related posts:
- » [abcomputers] ABC ~ All 'Bout Computers, Vol. 14: Windows Security Explained,and More!
