The Control or Ctrl-keys are usually located in the bottom left-hand side of your keyboard and bottom right-hand side of the main keyboard area.

Oops! I didn’t mean to do that!

Probably the most common use of the Ctrl-key is the Undo function. If you are editing a file such as a Microsoft Word document and inadvertently delete a block of text or make an error, don’t panic! Simply undo your last action by holding down the Ctrl-key and pressing the Z-key (Ctrl+Z). Depending on the software you’re using, you’ll be able to undo many times by repeating the action. Want to undo the undo!? Simply hold down the Ctrl and Shift-key then press the Z-key (Ctrl+Shift+Z). These shortcuts act like a rewind and fast-forward function for windows.

Cut & Paste

Here are some commonly used keyboard shortcuts that also manipulate text or files.

Cut (Ctrl+X): Cuts a selection and places it on the Windows clipboard.
Copy (Ctrl+C): Works like Cut but without deleting the original data.
Paste (Ctrl+V): Use this after you move the cursor to the place where you want to Cut or Copy.
Select All (Ctrl+A): Selects the entire page or section.

For the multi-tasker

If you often open more than one window at a time, hold down the Alt-key with your thumb and repeatedly press Tab with your left index finger to jump to any open window. You’ll see a dialog box similar to the one below.

I’ve only scratched the surface of the subject of keyboard shortcuts here and encourage you to explore your system or search google to discover new tips and tricks. Gradually introduce these useful shortcuts into your windows skillset and before you know it they’ll become second-nature.

Make no mistake, there are literally thousands of menaces out there designed to make your life a misery. What motivates someone to create a virus that wreaks havoc on computer networks is anyone’s guess but let’s focus on how we can safeguard our systems. Don’t worry about costly software because all the following recommendations are free.

Antivirus Software To protect yourself from the majority of threats, it’s absolutely imperative that your system has anti-virus software installed and running at all times. If you suspect your system is infected, you should perform a full system scan immediately. The longer you put it off, the more damage can occur. If your system takes longer to boot up, longer to open programs, displays unexpected pop-ups and generally performs sluggishly, chances are you have a virus or spyware infection. One of the most popular antivirus programs is AVG Anti-Virus Free which can be downloaded at:

http://free.grisoft.com

PC Firewall Connecting to the Internet is a two way exercise. While you visit your favourite sites, hackers can visit your computer. Hackers steal your personal data, such as bank account numbers and passwords. They also hijack your computer to launch attacks on other computers, even on entire networks. All this can be done without your knowledge.
You can minimise hacker attacks by installing a PC firewall. This will stop unauthorised access your computer and at the same time allows your computer complete, unrestricted access to the Internet. Although anti-virus software protects you from known viruses and can help clean up after a virus attack, a PC firewall is needed to block unauthorised access to your computer and protect against malicious software and Internet threats. One of the most popular PC Firewall programs avaliable is ZoneAlarm which can be downloaded at:

http://www.zonelabs.com

Anti-Spyware Many people underestimate the harm that spyware can do to their computer. Spyware has surpassed viruses as the number 1 threat to identity theft. Spyware sometimes referred to as Malware performs a range of behaviours such as advertising, collecting personal information, or changing the configuration of your computer. Symptoms include pop-up adverts, your browsers home page changing, unwanted toolbars appearing on your browser, a general slowdown in performance and sudden increase in erratic system crashes. Spyware can be introduced to your system when installing new programs or via Phishing. Phishing is when a fraudulent email encourages you to supply personal information such as credit card numbers or usernames for bank accounts. One of the best anti-spyware programs available is Spybot-Search & Destroy which can be downloaded here:

http://www.safer-networking.org

This post hopefully gives you some valuable information which should help you protect your system from harm.

In phishing scams, criminals send email messages that appear to come from legitimate sources like your bank or some other reputable company. They can also appear in the form of popups caused by spyware infections on your PC. The messages which can look very authentic, instruct you to follow an enclosed web link usually to “confirm your account” or “verify your information immediately.” But the link actually sends you on to a counterfeit website that looks like the real one.

Whatever you do, don’t click that link! You could be giving away the keys to your financial accounts, your personal information, and your computer. Your bank would never ask you to enter your username and password via an email link or popup window so ignore any requests to do so. This goes for other large organisations such as eBay and Amazon too. Never enter your personal details unless you are absolutely sure you are dealing with a genuine website.

Spyware Infections

In May of this year, Google surveyed billions of sites, subjecting 4.5 million pages to “in-depth analysis” and discovered one in 10 web pages contained malicious code that could infect a user’s PC. This shows that it is therefore possible to infect your computer by simply visiting a website! Such infections can result in phishing popups as already discussed. Worse still, if not attended to, spyware can seriously damage your operating system. The best way to deal with this problem is to cleanup your system with anti-virus and anti-spyware programs. Hopefully, you are already protected with an anti-virus program but it is also very important to have anti-spyware protection.

An excellent and free anti-spyware product is Spybot Search & Destroy. This is an excellent program that can deal with the majority of spyware infections. It can also ‘immunise’ your system against thousands of potential threats. It’s recommended that a PC or laptop is scanned for spyware at least once a month.

Leave it on or switch if off?

Many people wonder whether or not to leave their PC on when it’s not in use. Some of us actually leave our computer on overnight. There is a notion going around that says switching the computer on and off will put undue wear and tear on it’s components. Would you leave your car running all the time? For the same reason, it’s unnecessary to leave your computer on all the time too. It makes sense to switch it off when it’s not in use. It saves energy and money. My general rule of thumb is, if I’m not going to use my computer for another hour, I power it down. This goes for all peripherals too such as monitors, printers and scanners. I don’t know about you but I have forgotten to switch off my printer on more than one occasion in the past. I recently found a clever device that automatically controls the power to all peripherals when the desktop computer is switched on and off.

Intelliplug – 3 Way Automatic Power Switch

Please note this NOT suitable for laptops. The manufacturer claims that with all the electricity you save, the device will pay for itself after a year. It contains surge protection too. There is also a plug board available for more peripherals.

8 Socket InteliPanel

Bin it or recycle it?

Finished with that old computer or printer? Don’t send it to the tip. Recycle it instead. Some local charity shops will happily take them off your hands. A word of caution; if your giving away your computer make sure your hard drive is wiped. There have been many horror stories about credit card numbers being stolen from old computer hard drives. This does not simply mean reformatting the drive or reinstalling the operating system. The drive should be wiped with a data wiping program to make sure all sensitive data is permanently removed. Contact me if you need help with this.

Eco printing

Consider using recycled paper for your printer. If possible, do duplex printing i.e. printing on both sides of the paper. Rather than throwing your cartridges away, take them to your local inkjet refill shop. This causes less pollution and saves you money.

One of the most important and often overlooked functions that computer users should perform on a regular basis is Microsoft Window’s Disk Defragmenter. Imagine that you work in an office with a large filing cabinet and each time you pull out a file, instead of filing it away when you’ve finished, you throw it across the room! Naturally, next time you need the file, it takes ages to locate it! That’s exactly what Microsoft Windows does with your computer files. Over time, it slowly fragments your files, storing parts of each file in random physical locations spread out across your hard drive. As a result, your files will take longer and longer to access. The solution is to defrag your hard drive.

Putting it back together

Defragmenting the hard drive will keep your hard drive running efficiently. It speeds up your computer and should be done at least once a month to keep the computer working at maximum efficiency. It works by rearranging the files so that each file is stored in a contiguous collection of disk sectors on your hard drive. This makes reading and writing files much faster.

Defragmenting your drive is not difficult. Simply select Start => All Programs => Assessories => System Tools => Disk Defragmentor and then select the disk you want to defrag which most likely will be the “C” drive.

The Disk Defragmenter displays two options, Analyze and Defragment. Analyze will tell you if you need to defrag the hard drive, but if you haven’t done it for a while then it’s probably time to do so.

Once you start the process, it’s best to leave the computer alone. Defragging your drive uses up a lot of system resources and will slow the computer down. Although the defrag process can be paused or stopped, it’s advised not to. it can take up to a few hours or more depending on the size of the drive and how much information is stored on it.

Phishing Part 2: The Download Scam
A lesser form of Phishing is where internet users receive a message, usually in a popup window, informing them that there is an ‘infection’ on their system and that they need to to download and pay for program to clean up the problem. My advice here is to ignore the message unless you know it’s from a well-known and reputable company. By running antivirus and anti-spyware programs on a regular basis, your system should be free from infections anyway. Anti-spyware program, Spybot – Search & Destroy, is particularly good at preventing this problem. See my article Get Free Computer Protection Now! for more details.

I hope this post helps you avoid these types of scams in the future.

Another way your computer can save you money is by using internet price comparison engines and visiting well-known sites to find the best prices for products and services. Accessing these sites can find you cheaper holidays, hotel reservations, utility bills, books and even computers! Here are just a few sites that can save you money:

www.addall.com – books and music.
www.lastminute.com – holidays, theatre & concert tickets, restaurants.
www.uswitch.com – utility bills, broadband, telephone and credit cards.
www.amazon.co.uk – books, music and electronics.
www.ebay.co.uk – online auction.
www.moneysavingexpert.com – more money-saving tips!

Got enough power?

Vista is very powerful and therefore uses more system resources than Windows XP. It’s basic version, Vista Home Basic, requires at least a 800 MHz processor, 512MB of system memory (RAM) and 20GB of hard drive space just to run the core functionality but to fully utilise its features a 1Ghz processor, 1024MB of system memory, 40GB of hard drive space and support for DirectX 9 graphics is required. There are also 3 more “flavours” of Vista all requiring increasingly more resources.

Hardware/application compatibility

Whenever a new operating system comes out there are always in compatibility issues. If you have a device such as a printer or an application that you frequently use on your Windows XP system, don’t just assume it’ll work in Vista! Check the manufacturer’s website support area and make sure there’s Vista compatible drivers are available.

If your system can handle Vista or you decide to upgrade to a Vista machine, here are some of the benefits:

So Vista has a lot to offer but make sure you’re ready before taking the plunge. To learn more, click on the Windows Vista symbol below:

This site provides links to websites that will help you and your PC.

Here’s a warning about the importance of backing-up your data:-