Computer Health Concerns - Fake Pop-up Images

A fake pop-up window looks like an ordinary pop-up, but is actually an image. Clicking anywhere on the image will activate a link, which often leads to you inadvertently downloading spyware. Fake pop-ups rely on user habit. You see a pop-up window, so you close it by clicking the X button. Because the X button is part of the image, you activate the link. Watch the mouse pointer. If the pointer still looks like a little hand over the X button, the pop-ups a fake. If it looks like a pointer, it's a real pop-up.

About Email Hoaxes

A viral hoax is an email warning of a new and devastating computer virus. The text may suggest steps to protect yourself from this virus, and usually recommends that you warn as many people as possible about the impending virus outbreak. The virus doesn't actually exist, but the email can cause just as much havoc, slowing down servers as so many people send and receive the email. If you follow the directions in the email to “protect” yourself or remove the nonexistent virus, you could wind up damaging your computer.

Suspicious Email Attachments

A good rule of thumb for email attachments; never open an attachment from an unsolicited email. Such attachments are almost invariably viruses. Even if you recognize the email address where the email originated, check with the sender first if you receive unusual or unexpected email. It´s possible that a virus has infected the sender's system and is trying to replicate itself.

Clearing Browser History

Computer health and safety tips: Internet Explorer 6.0 keeps a history of websites you visit. While helpful, the History folder can be abused by spyware seeking information on your surfing habits. It's a good idea to periodically clear your History, especially if you have visited online banking sites or other areas where personal information may be listed. Open Internet Explorer, click the Tools menu, and select Internet Options. In the general Tab click the Clear History button and click Yes when asked if you really want to clear the history.

Tips and Tricks on Searching the Internet - Using Quotes in Searches

If your Internet search produces very general results, try enclosing your search term in quotations. The search engine will view any term in quotes as a phrase, and will look specifically for that phrase. The term "computer diagnostic scan," in quotes, will yield fewer, and more specific, results than typing in the phrase without quotes.

Printing a Link List

Internet Explorer Printing Options allow you to print a list of a web page´s outgoing links. Click open the File menu and select Print. In the Print dialog box click the Option tab. Click the "table of Link" option and then select the Print button.

Boolean Operators

Internet search tips: Most Internet search engines recognize the words "and," "not" and "or" Boolean operators: words that can be used to specify search terms. For example: typing "computer AND errors" finds web pages with both words in their content. "computer OR errors" finds web pages with either word, and "computer NOT errors" will find instances of "computer," but not if the page also includes the word "errors."

Print Preview and Web Pages

Before you print a web page, you may want to determine how many pages will be printed. Internet Explorer 6.0 doesn´t provide a page count for long web pages, so it's hard to determine how long your printing job will be. To get an exact number, click Internet Explorer's File menu and select Print Preview. When Print Preview opens, you´ll be able to get an exact count on the number of pages that will be printed.

Navigating Windows Regedit

The Windows registry, or windows regedit, isn't the most user-friendly portion of your PC, and with reason. Messing up your registry can seriously mess up your computer. Personally, I prefer to leave my registry alone whenever possible, trusting in regular PC health checks to keep the registry error free.

If you are navigating through regedit, it works on a tree system. Click on a plus sign will open more ‘branches' on the tree, while clicking a minus sign will close off branches. Be careful not to accidentally change anything as you navigate through the registry, and make a backup registry file before making any changes.

Searching The Internet - Entering URLs Into The Address Bar

If you know the URL of a website, you can open in by typing the URL into your browser´s Address Bar. Save yourself some time: usually you don't need to type in the entire URL. For instance, instead of typing in our website as http://www.pcpowerscan.com, all you'd need to do is type pcpowerscan.com.

Internet Explorer Browsers and Content Control

More browser tips and tricks: Internet Explorer can be set to block content of a crude, pornographic, or violent nature. Click the Tools menu and select Internet Options. In the Internet Options window, single-click the Content tab, and then the Content Advisor Enable button. Under the Ratings tab you can use the slide bar to set content restrictions on violence, language, nudity, and sex (click the topic heading and then slide the bar for each category).

Borderless Printing

Regular printing has a border of margins around the edges of the page. You can remove this border so the image or text fills the entire page. Click open the File menu of the program you're using and select Print. In the Print dialog box click the Preferences / Properties button, and then select the Print Layout tab. Click the bullet marked Borderless, and then select a paper size in the pull-down menu that appears. Finally, click the Print button to begin printing.

Minimize Start Programs

Here´s some computer maintenance tips: computer maintenance tips: Windows XP gives you the option of starting a program minimized. There's no great secret to this - no computer registry tweaks to potentially cause PC errors or other complicated procedures. All you need to do is hold down the Shift key when you click open the program.

Change or Rename Your Favorites Folder

When you add a Favorite (or Bookmark) to Internet Explorer, sometimes the Favorite appears as an URL in the Favorites list, with no helpful title to explain what the webpage is about. To rename such entries, open the Favorites menu, and click the entry with the right mouse button. In the menu that appears, select Rename Favorite. Type in a new name for the webpage and then click the OK button.

A Corrupt Windows Registry

A corrupt windows registry occurs when computer registry errors cause problems with system performance. Adding a new program or driver to your system may cause registry errors, as can uninstalling programs. If you're bold enough (or foolhardy enough) to make registry changes yourself, faulty entries can also corrupt a registry.

The best way to prevent a registry from becoming corrupted is to practice regular “hands-off” maintenance. A regular PC check-up can detect registry errors and save a corrupt registry.