This will be the last you hear from me in the DNR until 2012 so I thought I would give you some Christmas geek tips and sites to tide you over through the holidays.

First, I figure a few of my readers are getting new computers for Christmas.  Yes, from your emails I realize some of you wanted a column about picking new computers.  I only do those every couple of years so you will have to wait on that.  However, I do have a couple of suggestions on applications you should use on your new computer.

Before you go anywhere online with your new computer MAKE SURE you have an antivirus application working.  After your new computer is online go to pcdecrapifier.com to download Decrapifier.  Geeks call the free apps that come preinstalled on a new computer "Crapware" since most of it is junk and unnecessary.  I will not list them here but there are many.  I even suggest removing the free antivirus app that comes preloaded and getting one those you can get for free.  Most likely the free antivirus software is free for a short period of time.  Then you have to purchase it to keep it going.

Decrapifier scans your system and suggests software you can remove which you most likely do not need.  You can choose which ones to get rid of and keep the ones you like.  Just follow the directions and you will be fine.

After you remove the programs you may never use it is time to install all of your favorites.  You know the apps I am talking about.  For example the applications I always want on my computer are Firefox as my browser, Thunderbird for email, Skype, iTunes, VLC, Microsoft Security Essentials and several others.  I count these as my personal default applications.

If you go over to the Ninite site at ninite.com you can choose programs you want installed on your computer.  Now not all of the programs in the world are on the site, but the major ones you hear about and use are available.  If you want one that is not on the site you are out-of-luck this time.  However, you can ask for the missing app to be added to the list and it may be there next time you visit.  Once your list is complete click the, "Get Installer" link, download it and run it.  The applications will automatically be installed on your new computer.

I have run Ninite several times over the past few years and it works very well.  However, the last time I ran it; one application could not be installed.  So for that one, I had to go to the application’s site and install it there as I did in the "old" days.

OK, I know this is the Christmas column so I cannot leave without giving you the link to Norad so you can follow Santa on his flight later this week.  Surf to the Norad Santa Tracker at noradsanta.org and follow the man.

Tags: christmas, decrapifier, dnr, Email, free antivirus software, free apps, geek, holidays, itunes, microsoft security, new computer, ninite, remove unwanted apps, security essentials, skype, thunderbird, time, vlc

OK, the holidays have started and you may be traveling to visit the relatives in a faraway or unfamiliar location.

You take your computer so that you can keep up with email, Facebook, your Tweets and your news and sports information.  Gee, first of all what happened to the "good ole days" when you visited your relatives?  Oh well, I guess we are more civilized now but don’t get me going on that.

Or let us say that you really are a "family-visiting" sort of person and you do want to visit and not spend your entire time with them texting and online.  On your way to visit you go to a hotel and you need a Wi-Fi connection.  You have your notebook and your Wi-Fi enabled and Wi-Fi tablet PC with you.  When you get to the hotel you find they only have a wired connection.  Well unless you are geekier than I am, you will not have a network cable with you.  But since you need to connect you hope that they have a cable to lend you.  An aside here; I experienced this very thing a year or two ago and they would "lend" me a cable…for $7.50 a night.  What a rip-off, but don’t get me going on that one either.  In that case you could connect your notebook but most likely not your tablet, phone or other non-cable ready devices.

The program we will look at today is Connectify (connectify.me). It will help to resolve this and some other situations for you.  You can install Connectify on your Windows 7 PC or XP but it doesn’t work nearly as well with XP and has fewer features available.  Once installed, you can set up your own Wi-Fi Hotspot.

This means after you plug into the network and download and install Connectify you can set up your own private wireless network.  Yes, this makes it just like home with your Wireless setup.  You will have a SSID (a network name) then you can use all of your other wireless devices to connect to your computer’s network and get online.  This shares the connection all around with multiple devices.

There are other features available with Connectify but the one that interests me the most is only in the paid version.  Check online for the price.  (I once quoted a price in a column and when it was published the prices had gone up so go check it on the site.)

This other feature can be used to extend the local wireless router you are using, even your home’s router.  OK, now I just lost some of you but here is the situation.  Your wireless router is located in the, oh let’s say, Northeast corner of the basement.  You can keep it hidden there and out of the way.  

You notice every time you sit on your back porch (on the second floor, southwest corner of the house) to read a book, check email, surf the net, etc. your Wi-Fi connection is either gone or so weak you cannot do much.  This is because the farther away from the wireless router you are, the weaker the signal.  If you use Connectify Pro you can use your notebook computer as a signal extender.  With that set up you can get much farther from your router since the notebook computer is now "extending" the distance of the broadcast signal.  You could go way across the street or out to the backyard and still receive a strong signal.

As always, make sure you secure your wireless network to keep your connection yours.

Tags: Email, good ole days, holidays, network cable, notebook, relatives, sports information, tablet PC, tweets, unfamiliar location, wifi

Here you go another exciting (well OK hopefully interesting) thing Jim and I looked at this month on the show. 

Below are all of the applications, sites, etc. we talked about plus here is the podcast for your listening pleasure back at WSVA Online.

Have a great month and I  hope you will be listening and calling next month, Monday, December 19th!

Thanks,
Ron

Retail Me Not
http://www.retailmenot.com/
Coupon codes, printable coupons, grocery coupons for Christmas-or any other time!

Advice from the pros: For extra secret sales and discounts, get the company’s store credit card as many promotions are for card holders, only. HOWEVER–don’t be tempted to run up that charge card! Any savings you initially make will be lost if you are paying off a high interest rate.

Be cautious as sometimes they have good deals and other times just so-so deals.

I have been using Google Music, during the Beta trail, for the past month or two and it is slick.

I have uploaded all of my music to the site (about 2,500 songs and books) and can play it from most anywhere I can get online. Whether phone, tablet any computer, etc. They have a limit of up to 20,000 songs to be uploaded, stored and streamed (played online) for free.

They also have a store to buy more music at some very good prices. I think Google may have bet the competitors with this one.

See you next month and don’t forget to follow Double Clicks on Twitter and Facebook!

Tags: cellphone, cloud, cloud storage, Email, Emily Post, facebook, foxnews, Jim Britt, lumos, manners, ntelos, personal messages, place of worship, pleasure, quintessential guide, Ron Doyle, spoon

I received the same email twice this week and I am betting some of you did also.  One from a relative and another from a friend of a friend of a friend along with 50+ other people who were copied on it.  Now right off you need to think about it.  When you get an email with a bunch of other people in it, it must be a joke or a scam.  The obvious clue for these two was the following, "This letter is about an opportunity to make an incredible amount of money (CASH !!!)".

Now here is a big lesson for you, very big.  When you get emails that you have trouble believing are true, they are most likely not true.  They are there for one of several purposes.  To get your money, to get you to download spyware, malware, etc., to get your bank account usernames/passwords or to get some foolish rumor started to spread around the world (the latest is a pathetic rumor about the tenth 9/11 ceremonies).  Most always it is to cause some disturbance or problem for someone.

With gas prices high, the economy in disrepair, and job worries, the scams increase as the population becomes more uncertain about the future.  Do not fall for any of them.  I do not care if the email came from your best friend or even your mom, be cautious.

These emails are urban legends, online rumor, hoax or whatever you would like to call them, but "fake" works well for me.  Some of these scams started out in the late 1980s and disappeared for a while then came back exactly the same or with slight differences.  They weren’t true then and still aren’t, so PLEASE don’t send them on to anyone else when you get them in your inbox.

I know you want to be a good internet citizen and help your friends during the current uncertainties, but give them realities not falsehoods.  You might ask, "How do I know if emails are true or not?"

Here’s how.  Copy and paste a sentence or at least five or ten words of a suspect email into a search engine — then search.  You will find many links to reputable sites which will tell you about the phony.  If the email is true or hasn’t been discovered yet, you may not find anything about it, or very little. 

For the one I mentioned earlier I searched that one sentence, with quotes around it.  Google found over 130 links.  If you read them at all you could find that it is a pyramid scheme.  Be careful even then because some of the links perpetuated lies to get your money.  When in doubt about the truthfulness of an email simply copy, paste, search and check out the results.  If nothing shows up it could either be true or a new legend.

I also recommend Snopes.com or About.com although there are other reputable sites out there performing the same legend verifications.  Remember, the Nigerian prince is not real and neither is the lawyer who has $100,000,000 for you if you only help him out.

Tags: account usernames, amount of money, cash, clue, disrepair, Email, friend of a friend, gas prices, hoax, inbox, internet citizen, joke, money, passwords, realities, rumor, scam, scams, uncertainties, urban legends, worries

On my Gmail page I first noticed the Scroll Bars on the left (in yellow, shown at bottom of page).  With this feature you don’t have to check which labels you want to see, you have all of them with a simple scroll up or down.  Neat addition.  These are now defaults so if you don’t like them (I can’t imagine why) you cannot set them back to the old GUI.

Another new default change with Gmail. Notice when you scroll down an email page, especially with Vertical/Horizontal view off, the command/control bar scrolls with your view so they are available anywhere while viewing your email. Another great long overdue innovation again by Google.

Next, you can now show your emails to the right of the selected email (Vertical) or below it (Horizontal).  However, unlike the scroll bars this must be added through the Labs part of Gmail. To add this feature:

1. Click the gear in the upper right of the window.
2. Choose Mail Settings.
3. Next, Labs.
4. In the search box type Preview Pane.
5. Enable it.
6. Save Changes.
7. You are done.

Back in Gmail it will be set up Vertically like mine below and sorry for the blurring but hey, its my stuff.

To change it to Horizontal click the down arrow above your email and to the right (orange arrow in graphic) and choose the way you want to view your email.  You can also reset it to the old way by clicking the button or using the arrow again.  Now when you click an email from the list it will open where you want it.

Have fun and thanks Google!

Tags: cloud, Email, free apps, Gmail, gmail settings, google, horizontal view, innovation, labels, online email, personal, preview pane, scroll bars, search box

Many people do not care for the almost-new Menu navigation system for Windows 7.  I personally see where Microsoft could have made some additional changes; however, I still like it very well.  My favorite feature (which was also available in Vista, though not nearly as robust or accurate as in W7) is being able to click the Start button and type what you want to open or find.

Suppose you want to open a blank Microsoft Excel workbook.  All you need to do is click the Start button and type, "Excel".  Excel will be highlighted at the top of the list. You press Enter; it opens and is ready to go.  You could also press the Windows Key on your keyboard and begin typing.    It is the one on the left side of the spacebar that resembles the Windows logo.  You know the key; it is the one you never use.

Let me take you one step farther.  Let’s pretend that you have document which you created years ago.  You know that it is on your computer; however, you have no idea what it was called or where you saved it.  You do remember that it had the words, "Emerald City" somewhere in the text.  You need to find that email to write some more about Dorothy. 

Use the Start button again and type, "Emerald City".  Then relax as your computer searches your entire hard drive for any document including email that has, "Emerald City" in the text.  In just a few seconds it will appear in the list along with all the others (if there is more than one.)  Just as before, clicking on the correct file will open the document and you can read away. 

Of course, there is the standard procedure where you click Start, "All Programs" and scroll to the program you wish to start.  Then just click and go.  Of course this doesn’t find a particular document very quickly.

There are fancier solutions if you do not like the Windows’ Menus.  One I have used for years is called, "Desktop Sidebar" (desktopsidebar.com).  It is very customizable but will also take you a while to learn how to use.  It is easy for the geekier of you out there, but complicated if you are not used to "adjusting" things on your computer.

Another more simple to use menu launcher is named, "Rocket Dock" (rocketdock.com).   RocketDock is an attractive and fun program launcher.  It is neatly animated and pops at you when you hover the icons.  It supplies a pleasant modern interface which easily arranges your most used applications for quick access.  The downside  with both of these is you need to download, install and then learn how to use them.  For both of these free programs there are instructions on their respective sites.  Check them out if you want something new for your computer. 

Next week we will look at where one of my old favorites went and how to bring it back to life in Windows 7 the "Quick Launch Toolbar".

Tags: desktop sidebar, Email, emerald city, excel, excel workbook, hard drive, keyboard, menu navigation, microsoft, navigation system, new menu, quick launch, Quick Launch Toolbar, rocketdock, spacebar, start button, toolbar, windows 7, windows logo, windows menus

I

received an email from Ben in Arizona last week.  First of all you may ask, "Are you published in Arizona?"  The answer is nope, but I sure wish I was. Maybe then Kim Komando would discover me and I would be on my way to fame and fortune…yeah, right.  I have had people write to me in the past from all over the world. I have heard from several countries; Switzerland, Japan and one fellow in Greenland to name a few.  The internet provides access everywhere, with the exception of certain countries for various political reasons.  But that’s enough of that.  Let’s get back to Ben.

Ben wanted to know how he could change his user account picture in Windows XP.  He did not want to change it to those standard pictures in XP.  You know…the butterfly, chess pieces, rubber ducky or frog.  He wanted something of his own.  Well he (and maybe you) didn’t realize it but you can change your user account picture to any picture on your computer.  It is very simple to do and works the same on XP, Vista and 7.

First, in order to get to your User Accounts screen for XP you have to go to Start, Control Panel and User Accounts.  However, Vista and especially Windows 7 are much easier. All you have to do is click the Start button and type, "User Accounts", wait a couple of seconds and press enter.

First, you must have rights to change your user account.  If you go to the following locations and they are grayed out or you cannot access them, you need to get with your computer’s administrator and have them give you permission

Once on the User Accounts screen click on your picture/account.  You will see a link that says, "Change my picture".  Pretty easy so far, isn’t it?

Click the "Browse for more pictures" link.  Scroll to the very bottom of the screen if you cannot see it already.  Now, navigate to the folder containing the picture you wish to use.  Most likely it will be in your "My Pictures" folder.

Click the picture and click the open button.  You may also double click on the picture to add it to your account.  The picture will now be the "avatar" for your user account.

Picture size is important to an extent. If you want your pictures to fit perfectly, size them to 128 x 128 pixels.  If they are larger Windows will crop them as it sees fit, with the center in the middle of the graphic; however, you may lose the edges.  Windows does a good job of fitting a larger picture into the smaller space automatically.

Be aware that the computer’s administrator can change all users’ pictures.  However, a user with a limited account or someone using a guest account can only change their own picture.

Check out the video of this at "bit.ly/gcIdj1" and let me know what you think (of course since you are reading this here, online, all you have to do is look below).  Let me know what you would like to learn in the Double Click columns.  I always like to hear from you.  Thanks in advance for the feedback.

Tags: avatar, butterfly, chess, chess pieces, Email, fame and fortune, fellow, frog, japan, kim komando, picture, rubber ducky, switzerland, Tips, tricks, User Account, vista, windows 7, xp

Thanks for the response to last week’s column about Gmail Aliases.  I received a “bunch” of emails regarding that feature.  And, “you are welcome” for pointing out that out to you.

I also received a lot of questions from some of you folks who are newer to Gmail about how to set up filters.  So that will be today’s topic.

To create a filter, or rule as it is called in most other email applications, you must first log into your Gmail account.

After you are in, look to the upper right portion of the screen and click on “Settings“.  Once in Settings click on the “Filters” link which should be about four over from the left.  I realize there are many other items to click but for now, stick with Filters.  If you are interested (shown via emails) I will write about some of the others in the future.

Now use the “Create a new filter” link and a new screen will open up with many text boxes available for entering information.

Here is how I created the one mentioned last week for emails sent to the alias, “dblclx+DNR@gmail.com.” They will be forwarded to a folder or a label named, “DNR.”

In the, “To:” textbox I typed in the alias address, “dblclx+DNR@gmail.com”.  At this point you could click the, “Test Search” bar but it will only work if you have any emails in your account for it to find.  You may also fill in other information.  For instance, you may only want to find an email with your product or name in the body of the email. Or maybe you want to find an email from a particular person, etc.  Once you complete that setup, click, “Next Step“.

In this screen you enter what you want the specified emails to do once they arrive.  For my example, I chose to apply it to a new label named, “DNR”.  This is a label in Gmail; however, it more closely resembles a folder that will be created on the left side panel somewhere under your inbox.  Then click the, “Create Filter” link and all is done.

Now anytime an email arrives addressed to my alias address it will go to that specific label/folder.  There are many things you may use filters for in Gmail.  Try them out, but be careful.  You don’t want to automatically delete the wrong ones or mark them as “read” or you may miss the good ones.

Also, here’s one little stray thought about Gmail.  A creative technologist, Paul Truong, created a game based on Gmail.  I read in several places that he did it as a “thanks” to Google for creating and improving Gmail.  “Galactic Inbox” is a simple, quick and fun game to play.  Give it a try today at http://bit.ly/aTFUtq and let me know how you liked it.

Tags: alias, Email, email rules, Gmail filters

I recently received a distressing email from Barbara, Broadway, VA, about being hacked.  Her email started like this, "Yesterday I got up, turned on my computer, and found that my Gmail had been hacked…"  Once they had her email address it allowed them to gain control of her Facebook account too.

Her passwords were not accepted and her alternate Gmail address had been changed to one that she didn’t own.  (Gmail and other online email apps use an alternate to contact you in case something detrimental happens on their site and they need to get a hold of you.  I have never had the need for one yet.)  The hacker had also gone on to delete her address book and all of her contacts in it. 

Of course, all of her email was deleted…or so she thought.  She found later, after communicating with Gmail that all of her Sent mail had been put into her Junk folder, so at least she still had those.  They had forward all of her incoming emails to another account of theirs.  If your Gmail account is hacked you may want to read this and check a few account settings http://bit.ly/9u1CZi.

Why do we get hacked?  As Barbara later discovered it was not someone local who got into her accounts.  They were hacked by someone or some organization in Nigeria.  The bad guys are usually hoping to get your bank account numbers, charge card info, etc.  They also may want to run scams on your friends, making them think you are excited about something the hacker can make money on.  The reasons are endless.

Barbara has not been the only one in the area to be hacked, so do not think it can’t happen to you.  Please take preventative action online or you may have some headaches.

At this time there isn’t any way to stay absolutely "unhackable" but there are things you can do to help prevent it.  First and foremost, make your passwords hard for others to get.  Make sure they are at least eight characters long.  Use upper case, lower case and symbols in your passwords.  Absolutely do not use the same password on all of your accounts.  If you do, when they get one, they get them all and your info is theirs!  Change your passwords several times a year.  If you don’t use an account, close it down.

I have over 194 different password protected sites I keep up.  Yes, I have a super-human photographic memory.  I remember each and every password for each individual site.  NOT! More about that in the near future.

Tags: Email, facebook, Gmail, hack, hacked, hijacked

Last week we talked about the top online email programs.  Today I will discuss the top two I have heard about from readers and others in the area.

Although, Yahoo! Mail was listed as number one around the world, those I have heard from put Gmail and Windows Live Mail as their favorites.  Mine is not a very scientific poll since I used emails from you all and asked people I work with.  Keep in mind, the majority of my coworkers are geeks which could be skewing the results. 

Windows Live Mail (WLM from here on out) has two different address formats.  In 1996 there was Hotmail.com.  Then in 2005 Microsoft decided to revamp the name and add more functionality so Live Mail was born. Therefore, if you have an older account you have a "hotmail.com" address, while the newer members have "live.com" as their address.  Being the geek tester that I am, I have one of each but rarely use either.

With Gmail everyone has the same domain in their address.  They are all formatted as, name@gmail.com.  Gmail started in 2004 by invitation only and then went public for everyone in 2007. 

WLM  will very shortly (maybe by the time you read this) be expanding storage on the site to 25GB.  They will allow this for email and all other types of files with their "Live Sky Drive" app.  Gmail started out with 1 GB of storage and continues to expand daily.  It is now at approximately 7.5 GB.  The issue I have with Gmail is that the storage is not contained in one location.

As stated above Gmail provides an ever increasing 7.5 GB of storage for email only.  Google’s Picasa Web Albums offers 1 GB of storage for photos and videos only. Google Docs gives you 1 GB for everything else; all of your docs, spreadsheets, presentations etc.  You should know this free storage is not transferable from one product or application to another.  My belief is that Google will be merging them together sooner or later. It will most likely be sooner, once Microsoft finishes rolling out their 25 GB.

Both WLM and Gmail offer calendars, address books and more online.  One very important factor is that it is all free.  Of course, both offer upgrades in storage size for a charge.  The basics should be more than enough for the average user.

After doing a review of the two I found that even though I exclusively use Gmail; Live Mail has a lot to offer.  Of course, there is Google Voice but more on that another time.

Tags: applications, Email, Gmail, live mail, microsoft, online, yahoo