Welcome to "Mouse Tracks." Let Dotcom show you around!
 
I, occasionally, put out a few shortcuts and hints for more successful computing, less frustration, and greater security.
Computer Business Solutions - We've Got Your Solution! Viruses are the number one complaint that we hear about, other than "my Internet connection is too slow", which we all feel periodically.  Several of the new viruses coming to you profess to be a Microsoft Security Update.  We want you to know that Microsoft never has, and, according to them, never will send program updates via e-mail.  If you receive e-mail from Microsoft that states, in the subject, that it is an update to the operating system, Internet Explorer, Outlook, or Outlook Express, you should delete it immediately.  DO NOT OPEN IT.  It is almost certainly a virus/worm.

Surfing the Internet these days without virus protection is very dangerous.  Contact us today to have the latest virus protection installed on your computer, before you lose critical data!

Computer Business Solutions - We've Got Your Solution! Something else that we are starting to see a lot more of is known is various ways as "adware", or "spyware", or "malware".  While technically not a virus, they are only one step above it, and can slow down your computer, change your internet home page or preferred search engine, and cause many pop-ups to appear on your screen.  Some "adware" programs capture your e-mail address, resulting in you receiving more "spam" e-mail.  Some "adware" programs may deluge you in pornographic ads and emails and redirect your home page to a pornographic site.  "Adware" is usually downloaded to your computer through your Internet Browser (Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape Communicator, etc.) from a particular website, without you being aware of it.  Sometimes Internet Explorer will give you a pop-up window that looks something like this:

It looks like you're going to get something for nothing, right?  Unfortunately, unless you know exactly what you are downloading, chances are you're going to get something you really don't want, probably can't use, definitely don't need, and is only going to cause you trouble.  A good rule of thumb is to just click on the red "X" in the top right corner of the pop-up.  Often times, they have it programmed so that clicking on the "No" button is the same as clicking on the "Yes" button.  This will usually close the popup without anything being downloaded to your computer, but not always!  If the popup reappears, leave that particular website and try closing the popup again. 

If you think you have some "adware" on your computer (and you probably do), you can download a really neat utility from Lavasoft called Ad-Aware.  Install it and follow the simple directions to rid your computer of "adware!"
Computer Business Solutions - We've Got Your Solution! Speaking of e-mail, remember that you normally cannot get a virus from e-mail that has not been opened.  Therefore, be certain that the "Preview Pane" option within Outlook or Outlook Express is turned off.  When this option is turned-on, e-mail is immediately opened for viewing and if it contains a virus it will infect your computer before you can do anything about it.

You can tell if your "Preview Pane" is turned on if your email screen looks like the picture below.

The Preview Pane will display the first few lines of the email message selected, unfortunately, if this email contains a virus it will immediately infect your computer!

If your "Preview Pane" is turned on in Outlook Express, here is how to turn it off:

Start Outlook Express.  Click on the "View" menu item.
Select "Layout".
Make sure that the "Show preview pane" box is not checked.  If it is, uncheck it by placing your cursor over it and clicking the mouse.
Click on Apply.
Click on OK
 
If your "Preview Pane" is turned on in Outlook, here is how to turn it off: 
 
Start Outlook.  Click on the "View" menu item.
If the "Preview Pane" is being displayed, the "Preview Pane" button will be depressed.  Click the button and the Preview Pane will no longer be displayed.
Computer Business Solutions - We've Got Your Solution! Another thing that you should consider is the backing up of your important data (e.g. Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, bookkeeping files, pictures, music, etc.).  These important files are those that cannot be recreated by reinstalling your software.  An example might a letter that you wrote to your customers or friends using Microsoft Word, Corel WordPerfect, Microsoft Works, or Microsoft WordPad.  The program itself can be reloaded by reinstalling the product, but the letter cannot be recovered unless it has been backed up to another medium (diskette, tape, CD-ROM, Zip-Drive, or to another computer on your network). 
Consider using the linked form to retain a record of those products installed on your computer.  If you need backup software to accomplish this task, contact us to order the software that we use.  We can schedule a service call to aid you in completing the form, install the product and assist you in setting up the backup and scheduling its execution.
Computer Business Solutions - We've Got Your Solution! Tired of those annoying popups while surfing the internet?

Try one of the following:

Either of these products work well and can be installed quite easily.  Try one of them, you will like them!  We have a preference for the Google toolbar as we use Google for most of our searches.
Computer Business Solutions - We've Got Your Solution! Finally, you probably need to improve your skills in the use of Microsoft products such as Windows, Word, Excel, etc.  We offer Hands-On training in these most commonly used products at our training facility and are planning our October class schedule now. 
Check the schedule on our website here.  You can even sign-up online!
Cheers,

Dotcom