Happy New Year everyone!! I hope you have a safe and fun New Year. As for the articles in this issue I am trying hard to give the most useful information I can come up with that will help you with your computer woes. I have also added a new section that will keep you up to date on new technology coming out. I hope this section will help you with your technology purchases. My website is still a work in progress so check it regularly for new tutorials. If you have any suggestions for the website please email me at jennifer@free-computer-tutorials.net and let me know what you think or what you would like me to add.

In this issue:

• How to email large files by zipping the folder
• Understanding security online
• New folders in Outlook that link to a web page
• New Technology – Windows 7 is coming next year

How to email large files by zipping the folder

With all of the multi media things we can do on our computers now it creates very large files. And what fun is creating digital videos and pictures if you can’t share them with friends and family? Many email programs have a size limit on what they will let you send. Here is a quick fix to that problem it is called zipping.

In Windows XP all you need to do is right click on the file or folder you would like to zip and select Send to then Compressed (zipped) folder. This will take your file reduce the size of it and put it in a folder with the same file name in the same location as the file.

You can also select multiple files to put into a zipped folder by clicking each file while holding the ctrl button down then following the same steps.

There are several programs that you can download if you don’t like using windows or if you have a version of windows that will not do this. WinZip is one of these programs that I think works well. Click Here! to download the program then we can continue learning about how to use this program.

If you need more information on zipping files please email me at Jennifer@free-computer-tutorials.net

With all of the financial institutions moving to managing your accounts online and with so many shopping opportunities online security on the internet has become a big issue. I want to give you some tips so you can check your computer and make sure you are safe while banking and shopping online.

1. The 1st thing you should be aware of is Phishing – Phishing is when someone makes a website look like another. They do this so you think you are giving a trusted site your personal information when in fact you are giving it to someone else. There was even a scam on the IRS website promising a tax return. To prevent this from happening there are 2 things you need to do: 1 – Don’t click on links in an email unless you know who they are from and 2 – If you use Internet Explorer 7 Click on Tools then Phishing Filter, The Phishing filter settings, scroll almost all the way to the bottom and make sure the button Turn on automatic website checking under Phishing filter is selected. This will check websites to make sure they are legitimate.
2. The next thing for online security is before you enter any personal information make sure you see the little pad lock at the top of your web browser next to the address bar. This little pad lock means the site is secure.
3. Next make sure you have a good anti virus program installed and make sure it is up to date. If you’re anti virus program does not have updated definitions it is worthless. There are new viruses being developed every day. I like an anti virus program called AVG. Click Here to download the program. There are viruses called Trojans that can get into your computer from emails or certain websites and open your computer for hackers to collect personal information.
4. The last thing is make sure you download and install your windows updates. This can be set up automatically in your control panel under Automatic Updates. There are a lot of hackers that don’t like Microsoft and make viruses specifically to attack Microsoft’s software. Microsoft works on these loop holes all of the time and sends out updates to fix them. These updates are very important!

I hope these suggestions help you feel a little more secure while shopping and banking online. Please email me if you have any questions.

New folders in Outlook that link to a web page

This is a wonderful tool I just started using to keep track of an email account that I cannot set up as an account in Outlook 2007. This works great for webmail accounts but also for frequently visited web pages. I am always in my Outlook 2007 program looking at my calendar and contacts. How convenient is it not to have to open a web browser to view frequently visited web site. To do this create a new folder by going to File then New then Folder. Title your folder then right click the folder you just created and select Properties.

When your Properties window opens click the Homepage tab and enter your web address in the address box. (Don’t forget to put http:// in front of the web address). You may even want to copy and paste the address so you don’t have any typos. Then simply click OK.

Now every time you click on that folder you will see your website.

Visit my web pages on Outlook 2007 to learn more about the program. http://www.free-computer-tutorials.net/outlook-2007.html

New Technology – Windows 7 is coming next year

Yep Microsoft is coming out with yet another operating system. There were so many problems with Windows Vista that they are in the process of developing Windows 7. It has already been shown to developers so they can test it and give Microsoft feed back.

It should be hitting store shelves the end of 2009. So if you are planning on upgrading your operating system to Windows Vista I would hold off for another year if you can.

You can read more about Windows 7 at http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-10128822-17.html?tag=mncol;posts

I hope this issue of Understanding the Basics of Computers was helpful. If you have any suggestions for next months issue or comments on this issue please let me know.

Keep learning about your computer,
Jennifer Anderson
www.free-computer-tutorials.net

P.S. If you would like to purchase ad space in my e-zine please mail me with Ad in the subject line.