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The Computer Tutor — Software How-To
The Computer Tutor

Computer repair, personal computer instruction in Safety Harbor, Clearwater, Tampa, St Pete

Latest Episodes:

system restore — How to make sure System Restore is set up properly Dec 10, 2018
Show notes

One way PC problems can sometimes be fixed is by using the built-in function called System Restore. It’s not the answer for every situation, but in certain situations it can be the perfect solution. But in order for it to work, it has to be set up correctly ahead of time.

Here’s what happens. A client will bring me a computer and maybe some malware has wormed its way in or some unwanted software has gotten installed, something like that. The client knows that the problem happened within the last 24 hours. So in this case, we can probably use System Restore to take the computer back to an earlier date – meaning longer than 24 hours ago – and the problem is likely to go away.

But with System Restore, there are a couple of things that are needed in order for that to work.

First, System Restore has to be enabled and configured properly.

Second, you will need what’s called a “restore point” – which just means a date that the computer can be brought back to. For example, usually when Microsoft sends out a Windows Update, the first step in that process is that the update will first create a restore point – so that if there’s a problem with the update, System Restore can be used to take the computer back to that point (before the troublesome update).

So what happens sometimes is I’ll go to use System Restore, and the message that comes back is “No restore points found”. When there are no restore points, System Restore is useless.

So here are the two things you need to do in order to make sure System Restore is ready to use when you need it:

First, enable and configure System Restore:

Click in the search field in the bottom left and type: Create a restore point. Then, in the search results, click on “Create a restore point”. This will open the System Restore window.

In that window, click once to highlight the C drive, and click on “Configure”.

In the next window, there are two things you need to do:

Check the button that says “Turn on system protection”

Slide the “Max usage” selector to something like 5gb or maybe 10gb, and click OK

Second, set a restore point:

After you click ok in the last step, you’re taken back to the main window. At the bottom of that window is a button named “Create”. Click that, and then give this system restore point a name. It can be as simple as today’s date.

Finally, click OK and you’re done.

It’s not a bad idea to just create a new restore point every once in a while, as long as your computer seems to be working well. Windows is supposed to set one automatically each time new Windows Updates come in, but that is not something I would rely on.

Some things you should know about System Restore:

In Windows 10, System Restore is NOT turned on by default. This is just another goof by Microsoft that just baffles me. So you have to be aware of this, and enable it yourself. If you buy a laptop from me, that’s already been done.

If you use System Restore to take the computer back to a previous date, it does not have any effect on your personal files such as Documents, Pictures, etc. That’s a good thing, since you can use it without worrying about losing anything important. But it’s a bad thing, because if you accidentally delete a document, you can’t use System Restore to get it back. System Restore does not negate the need for a backup.

System Restore is not something you should use all the time. I have a few clients who, at the first sign of any computer issue, immediately run System Restore and go back a day or a few days. Not a good idea. Resolving computer problems should be done strategically, giving consideration to all potential solutions, and the ramifications of each one.

The post How to make sure System Restore is set up properly first appeared on The Computer Tutor.

system restore — How to make sure System Restore is set up properly Dec 10, 2018
Show notes

One way PC problems can sometimes be fixed is by using the built-in function called System Restore. It’s not the answer for every situation, but in certain situations it can be the perfect solution. But in order for it to work, it has to be set up correctly ahead of time.

Here’s what happens. A client will bring me a computer and maybe some malware has wormed its way in or some unwanted software has gotten installed, something like that. The client knows that the problem happened within the last 24 hours. So in this case, we can probably use System Restore to take the computer back to an earlier date – meaning longer than 24 hours ago – and the problem is likely to go away.

But with System Restore, there are a couple of things that are needed in order for that to work.

First, System Restore has to be enabled and configured properly.

Second, you will need what’s called a “restore point” – which just means a date that the computer can be brought back to. For example, usually when Microsoft sends out a Windows Update, the first step in that process is that the update will first create a restore point – so that if there’s a problem with the update, System Restore can be used to take the computer back to that point (before the troublesome update).

So what happens sometimes is I’ll go to use System Restore, and the message that comes back is “No restore points found”. When there are no restore points, System Restore is useless.

So here are the two things you need to do in order to make sure System Restore is ready to use when you need it:

First, enable and configure System Restore:

Click in the search field in the bottom left and type: Create a restore point. Then, in the search results, click on “Create a restore point”. This will open the System Restore window.

In that window, click once to highlight the C drive, and click on “Configure”.

In the next window, there are two things you need to do:

Check the button that says “Turn on system protection”

Slide the “Max usage” selector to something like 5gb or maybe 10gb, and click OK

Second, set a restore point:

After you click ok in the last step, you’re taken back to the main window. At the bottom of that window is a button named “Create”. Click that, and then give this system restore point a name. It can be as simple as today’s date.

Finally, click OK and you’re done.

It’s not a bad idea to just create a new restore point every once in a while, as long as your computer seems to be working well. Windows is supposed to set one automatically each time new Windows Updates come in, but that is not something I would rely on.

Some things you should know about System Restore:

In Windows 10, System Restore is NOT turned on by default. This is just another goof by Microsoft that just baffles me. So you have to be aware of this, and enable it yourself. If you buy a laptop from me, that’s already been done.

If you use System Restore to take the computer back to a previous date, it does not have any effect on your personal files such as Documents, Pictures, etc. That’s a good thing, since you can use it without worrying about losing anything important. But it’s a bad thing, because if you accidentally delete a document, you can’t use System Restore to get it back. System Restore does not negate the need for a backup.

System Restore is not something you should use all the time. I have a few clients who, at the first sign of any computer issue, immediately run System Restore and go back a day or a few days. Not a good idea. Resolving computer problems should be done strategically, giving consideration to all potential solutions, and the ramifications of each one.

The post How to make sure System Restore is set up properly first appeared on The Computer Tutor.

desktop icons — How to save (and restore) your desktop icon layout Nov 26, 2018
Show notes

I’m kind of picky about where I keep the icons on my desktop screen. Not all of them, but a few that I click on regularly. I have a couple of spreadsheets I use all the time, and a link to run Evernote, and a link to my Google contacts. I keep these icons in a certain place so I know where to find them. But then something happens, and they’re not where they’re supposed to be.

What causes this?

If you ever play around with your display resolution, that will move your icons to different places. I have heard that certain games require a particular resolution, so some people have to change the resolution to play the game, then change it back again.

But for me, it seems that the most common reason for icons getting moved around is because of Windows Updates. At least that’s what appears to be the culprit, since I notice the rearrangement right after Patch Tuesday (the second Tuesday of each month, when Microsoft sends out the monthly updates). After the overnight updates, I turn on the screen and all of my icons are arranged in solid columns on the left side of my left monitor. So I have to drag some of them back to their “right” place.

But a while ago, I discovered a little program that solves that problem. It’s called ReIcon.

The idea behind this program is pretty simple. You tell it how you want your icons to be displayed on your screen, and it remembers that layout. If something changes the layout, you just tell it to go back to the layout you want.

The program is free. You can get it by going to the developer’s website page here:
https://www.sordum.org/8366/reicon-v1-9-restore-desktop-icon-layouts/

That page describes what it does, the benefits of using it, and how to use it. At the bottom of the page you’ll see a link to download. When you click that, it will take you to a page that automatically downloads a zipped folder to your computer. When you open that zipped folder, you’ll see a folder called ReIcon in there – just drag that to your desktop screen and keep it there.

When you open that ReIcon folder, double click on the file called ReIcon_x64.

That opens the program window. Now click on File – Save Icon Layout:

You’ve now saved the current layout of your desktop icons. That’s the new entry you see in the program window:

Want to test it? Drag some random desktop icon to some other place on your screen. Then, in the ReIcon program window, click on File – Restore Icon Layout. That icon you moved goes right back where it was supposed to be!

When you look at the website for the program (above), you’ll see in the description that it does offer a number of other configuration options. For example, on my computer, I added the “restore icon layout” to my right click menu. So whenever I want to restore the icons back to their correct arrangement, all I have to do is right-click on the desktop screen and choose “Restore Icon Layout”. Makes things quick and easy after a Windows Update has messed up the order.

I do like this program because:

It requires no installation

It doesn’t try to put malware or other junk on your computer

It performs a needed service that solves a problem

If you want to use this program but find it to be a little too confusing, contact me and I can help you set it up through my Remote Support service.

The post How to save (and restore) your desktop icon layout first appeared on The Computer Tutor.

ReIcon — How to save (and restore) your desktop icon layout Nov 26, 2018
Show notes

I’m kind of picky about where I keep the icons on my desktop screen. Not all of them, but a few that I click on regularly. I have a couple of spreadsheets I use all the time, and a link to run Evernote, and a link to my Google contacts. I keep these icons in a certain place so I know where to find them. But then something happens, and they’re not where they’re supposed to be.

What causes this?

If you ever play around with your display resolution, that will move your icons to different places. I have heard that certain games require a particular resolution, so some people have to change the resolution to play the game, then change it back again.

But for me, it seems that the most common reason for icons getting moved around is because of Windows Updates. At least that’s what appears to be the culprit, since I notice the rearrangement right after Patch Tuesday (the second Tuesday of each month, when Microsoft sends out the monthly updates). After the overnight updates, I turn on the screen and all of my icons are arranged in solid columns on the left side of my left monitor. So I have to drag some of them back to their “right” place.

But a while ago, I discovered a little program that solves that problem. It’s called ReIcon.

The idea behind this program is pretty simple. You tell it how you want your icons to be displayed on your screen, and it remembers that layout. If something changes the layout, you just tell it to go back to the layout you want.

The program is free. You can get it by going to the developer’s website page here:
https://www.sordum.org/8366/reicon-v1-9-restore-desktop-icon-layouts/

That page describes what it does, the benefits of using it, and how to use it. At the bottom of the page you’ll see a link to download. When you click that, it will take you to a page that automatically downloads a zipped folder to your computer. When you open that zipped folder, you’ll see a folder called ReIcon in there – just drag that to your desktop screen and keep it there.

When you open that ReIcon folder, double click on the file called ReIcon_x64.

That opens the program window. Now click on File – Save Icon Layout:

You’ve now saved the current layout of your desktop icons. That’s the new entry you see in the program window:

Want to test it? Drag some random desktop icon to some other place on your screen. Then, in the ReIcon program window, click on File – Restore Icon Layout. That icon you moved goes right back where it was supposed to be!

When you look at the website for the program (above), you’ll see in the description that it does offer a number of other configuration options. For example, on my computer, I added the “restore icon layout” to my right click menu. So whenever I want to restore the icons back to their correct arrangement, all I have to do is right-click on the desktop screen and choose “Restore Icon Layout”. Makes things quick and easy after a Windows Update has messed up the order.

I do like this program because:

It requires no installation

It doesn’t try to put malware or other junk on your computer

It performs a needed service that solves a problem

If you want to use this program but find it to be a little too confusing, contact me and I can help you set it up through my Remote Support service.

The post How to save (and restore) your desktop icon layout first appeared on The Computer Tutor.

Google Cloud — New QUICK way to create cloud documents and spreadsheets Nov 12, 2018
Show notes

A lot of people use Google’s cloud services to create documents, spreadsheets, slide presentations and forms. Recently, Google introduced a new way to create this things very quickly. And once you set it up, you can literally do it with a single click.

Quick summary if you’re not familiar with Google Cloud –

If you use Microsoft Word, you know you can create a new Word document and save it on your computer’s hard drive.

With Google Cloud, you can create a new document right there on your screen using your Google account. It will look just like a Word document. You can edit it, save it, print it, or send it to someone.

But a Google Cloud document has a couple of key differences:

It’s not stored by default on your computer’s hard drive. It’s stored on Google’s computer’s hard drive. That’s the fundamental definition of “the cloud” – some computer other than your own. This means that in order to work on that document, you don’t need to be at your computer. You can log in to your Google account from anywhere in the world, on a desktop, laptop, tablet, or phone, and create and edit Google documents.

You can give other people access to that document. So if you want to collaborate on the content, or have someone proofread or edit it for you, you can give them access. And of course they can do all of this on their own computer, since the document is stored in the cloud. You don’t need to email it to them or have them get on your computer – just send them a link to access it.

So you can do these things with Google:

Create a Google Doc (comparable to a Word document)

Create a Google Sheet (comparable to an Excel spreadsheet)

Create a Google Slide (comparable to a Powerpoint presentation)

Create a Google Form (an online form you can use on your website or other places)

Create a Google Site (make your own website)

Up until recently, in order to create any of the above items, you had to log in to your Google account, go to Google Drive, figure out what you wanted to create, click on My Drive, then go down to Google Docs, and click on Blank Document. Multiple steps.

Now it’s much easier!

You’re probably already signed in to your Google account. So just open Chrome and up in the address bar, type: docs.new

And immediately on your screen you are presented with a brand new blank Google document, ready for you to enter your content.

Pretty cool, right?

Now we can take it a step further to make it even EASIER. When that blank document comes up on your screen, take the URL (the address in the address bar at the top) and drag that to your Bookmarks bar. Now you have a bookmark link right there on Chrome, named “Untitled Document”. So whenever you want to create a new document, all it takes is a SINGLE CLICK on that link, and you have your new blank document ready and waiting for you to start working on it.

And that’s just to create a new text document.

To create a new spreadsheet: go to sheet.new

To create a new slideshow: go to slide.new

To create a new website: go to site.new

To create a new online form: go to form.new

The post New QUICK way to create cloud documents and spreadsheets first appeared on The Computer Tutor.

new Google doc — New QUICK way to create cloud documents and spreadsheets Nov 12, 2018
Show notes

A lot of people use Google’s cloud services to create documents, spreadsheets, slide presentations and forms. Recently, Google introduced a new way to create this things very quickly. And once you set it up, you can literally do it with a single click.

Quick summary if you’re not familiar with Google Cloud –

If you use Microsoft Word, you know you can create a new Word document and save it on your computer’s hard drive.

With Google Cloud, you can create a new document right there on your screen using your Google account. It will look just like a Word document. You can edit it, save it, print it, or send it to someone.

But a Google Cloud document has a couple of key differences:

It’s not stored by default on your computer’s hard drive. It’s stored on Google’s computer’s hard drive. That’s the fundamental definition of “the cloud” – some computer other than your own. This means that in order to work on that document, you don’t need to be at your computer. You can log in to your Google account from anywhere in the world, on a desktop, laptop, tablet, or phone, and create and edit Google documents.

You can give other people access to that document. So if you want to collaborate on the content, or have someone proofread or edit it for you, you can give them access. And of course they can do all of this on their own computer, since the document is stored in the cloud. You don’t need to email it to them or have them get on your computer – just send them a link to access it.

So you can do these things with Google:

Create a Google Doc (comparable to a Word document)

Create a Google Sheet (comparable to an Excel spreadsheet)

Create a Google Slide (comparable to a Powerpoint presentation)

Create a Google Form (an online form you can use on your website or other places)

Create a Google Site (make your own website)

Up until recently, in order to create any of the above items, you had to log in to your Google account, go to Google Drive, figure out what you wanted to create, click on My Drive, then go down to Google Docs, and click on Blank Document. Multiple steps.

Now it’s much easier!

You’re probably already signed in to your Google account. So just open Chrome and up in the address bar, type: docs.new

And immediately on your screen you are presented with a brand new blank Google document, ready for you to enter your content.

Pretty cool, right?

Now we can take it a step further to make it even EASIER. When that blank document comes up on your screen, take the URL (the address in the address bar at the top) and drag that to your Bookmarks bar. Now you have a bookmark link right there on Chrome, named “Untitled Document”. So whenever you want to create a new document, all it takes is a SINGLE CLICK on that link, and you have your new blank document ready and waiting for you to start working on it.

And that’s just to create a new text document.

To create a new spreadsheet: go to sheet.new

To create a new slideshow: go to slide.new

To create a new website: go to site.new

To create a new online form: go to form.new

The post New QUICK way to create cloud documents and spreadsheets first appeared on The Computer Tutor.

live streaming — The best live-streaming webcams around the world Oct 29, 2018
Show notes

All over the globe, there are live cameras set up and streaming the content of whatever happens to be in their view. Here are some of the ones that I think are pretty interesting.

The Sea Otter Cam
https://www.vanaqua.org/visit/live-cams-sea-otter-cam
Watch the sea otters at the Vancouver Aquarium.

The Garden Bubble Cam
http://andieandmike.org/bubblecam/
Andie and Mike live somewhere in south Florida, and in their back yard, they have a bubble machine. It’s connected to the internet, and right under the webcam picture is a button labeled “Bubbles”. When you click that button, it activates the machine and bubbles blow out. Isn’t it amazing what we’re doing with technology these days?

Decorah Bald Eagles
https://www.raptorresource.org/birdcams/decorah-eagles/
This is definitely a popular webcam. In fact you may have seen it on the news from January to sometime in June. This is an eagle nest in Iowa. Eggs are usually laid in late February and hatch 4-6 weeks later. And you can watch it all happen live.

Watching Grass Grow
http://www.watching-grass-grow.com/
You’ve heard the phrase “that’s about as exciting as watching grass grow”? Well, apparently a lot of people ARE entertained by that activity. Even the site calls itself “the most boring/exciting website in the world”. It’s just a view of some guy’s front lawn in Colorado. And if you’re thinking, “no way would anyone watch that!” – when I checked the site recently, there were 49 other people watching it.

Jackson Hole Wyoming Town Square
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-F4CeVsWHA&feature=youtu.be
This is a live view of the main intersection in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It’s pretty much what you would expect. Traffic lights, cars, pedestrians. When I viewed it, 99 people were also watching.

San Diego Zoo Ape Cam
https://zoo.sandiegozoo.org/cams/ape-cam
You guessed it, apes in a zoo, live on camera. The same site has cameras for their condors, elephants, koalas, pandas, penguins, polar bears, and tigers. Maybe if enough people discover the webcam, fewer people will visit the zoo!

Senior Dog Gathering Room
https://explore.org/livecams/dog-bless-you/senior-dog-gathering-room
This is great if you’re a dog lover like I am. This is from the Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary, in Mount Juliet, Tennessee. This particular camera is in a room where the older dogs eat, play and relax. I love how this place has all the furniture set up with steps for access, and lots of blankets and pillows to these senior dogs can enjoy their retirement! The sanctuary has cameras all over the place. When I visited, I was one of 158 watching at the time.

Animal Planet L!VE Kittens
http://www.ustream.tv/toocute
Maybe you’re a fan of kittens. This is a live camera showing kittens playing with each other. (the camera was down temporarily when I went to get a screenshot for this post)

The Africam
http://www.africam.com/wildlife/
They have several live cameras set up to see the wildlife in Africa. You can click on whatever thumbnail image looks like it has some action.

Giant Panda Cam
https://nationalzoo.si.edu/webcams/panda-cam
The Smithsonian National Zoo has set up cameras so you can watch their giant pandas – Tian Tian, Mei Xiang, and Bei Bei. You can toggle back and forth between two cameras, depending on what’s going on at the time.

The Temple Bar
https://www.earthcam.com/world/ireland/dublin/?cam=dublinpub
This is a live shot of a pub in Dublin, Ireland. Great if you like live Irish music and the pub atmosphere.

West Texas Hummingbirds
http://cams.allaboutbirds.org/channel/50/West_Texas_Hummingbirds/
Definitely the webcam to watch if you like hummingbirds. Of course, you’ll only see them if it’s daytime in Texas.

The post The best live-streaming webcams around the world first appeared on The Computer Tutor.

sea otters — The best live-streaming webcams around the world Oct 29, 2018
Show notes

All over the globe, there are live cameras set up and streaming the content of whatever happens to be in their view. Here are some of the ones that I think are pretty interesting.

The Sea Otter Cam
https://www.vanaqua.org/visit/live-cams-sea-otter-cam
Watch the sea otters at the Vancouver Aquarium.

The Garden Bubble Cam
http://andieandmike.org/bubblecam/
Andie and Mike live somewhere in south Florida, and in their back yard, they have a bubble machine. It’s connected to the internet, and right under the webcam picture is a button labeled “Bubbles”. When you click that button, it activates the machine and bubbles blow out. Isn’t it amazing what we’re doing with technology these days?

Decorah Bald Eagles
https://www.raptorresource.org/birdcams/decorah-eagles/
This is definitely a popular webcam. In fact you may have seen it on the news from January to sometime in June. This is an eagle nest in Iowa. Eggs are usually laid in late February and hatch 4-6 weeks later. And you can watch it all happen live.

Watching Grass Grow
http://www.watching-grass-grow.com/
You’ve heard the phrase “that’s about as exciting as watching grass grow”? Well, apparently a lot of people ARE entertained by that activity. Even the site calls itself “the most boring/exciting website in the world”. It’s just a view of some guy’s front lawn in Colorado. And if you’re thinking, “no way would anyone watch that!” – when I checked the site recently, there were 49 other people watching it.

Jackson Hole Wyoming Town Square
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-F4CeVsWHA&feature=youtu.be
This is a live view of the main intersection in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It’s pretty much what you would expect. Traffic lights, cars, pedestrians. When I viewed it, 99 people were also watching.

San Diego Zoo Ape Cam
https://zoo.sandiegozoo.org/cams/ape-cam
You guessed it, apes in a zoo, live on camera. The same site has cameras for their condors, elephants, koalas, pandas, penguins, polar bears, and tigers. Maybe if enough people discover the webcam, fewer people will visit the zoo!

Senior Dog Gathering Room
https://explore.org/livecams/dog-bless-you/senior-dog-gathering-room
This is great if you’re a dog lover like I am. This is from the Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary, in Mount Juliet, Tennessee. This particular camera is in a room where the older dogs eat, play and relax. I love how this place has all the furniture set up with steps for access, and lots of blankets and pillows to these senior dogs can enjoy their retirement! The sanctuary has cameras all over the place. When I visited, I was one of 158 watching at the time.

Animal Planet L!VE Kittens
http://www.ustream.tv/toocute
Maybe you’re a fan of kittens. This is a live camera showing kittens playing with each other. (the camera was down temporarily when I went to get a screenshot for this post)

The Africam
http://www.africam.com/wildlife/
They have several live cameras set up to see the wildlife in Africa. You can click on whatever thumbnail image looks like it has some action.

Giant Panda Cam
https://nationalzoo.si.edu/webcams/panda-cam
The Smithsonian National Zoo has set up cameras so you can watch their giant pandas – Tian Tian, Mei Xiang, and Bei Bei. You can toggle back and forth between two cameras, depending on what’s going on at the time.

The Temple Bar
https://www.earthcam.com/world/ireland/dublin/?cam=dublinpub
This is a live shot of a pub in Dublin, Ireland. Great if you like live Irish music and the pub atmosphere.

West Texas Hummingbirds
http://cams.allaboutbirds.org/channel/50/West_Texas_Hummingbirds/
Definitely the webcam to watch if you like hummingbirds. Of course, you’ll only see them if it’s daytime in Texas.

The post The best live-streaming webcams around the world first appeared on The Computer Tutor.

credit freeze — New information about protecting your identity Oct 15, 2018
Show notes

About a year ago I did a blog post and podcast about the absolute best way to protect the valuable personal identity information that’s stored in your credit files. Today I’ll let you know about an update to that, which makes it much easier to take action on this.

You can read my last blog post here. But the basic idea of it was this: You should freeze your credit file with each of the 3 main credit bureaus: TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax. There are a variety of benefits to this, but the main one is that a scammer couldn’t use your credit report to create new accounts and steal your good rating.

The cost for this was just $10 to freeze your file at each of the bureaus, so $30 total. And that’s $30 per person, so a couple would be $60. And since children have a social security number and other personal information that could be stolen, it would be $30 for each of your kids.

Then, if you do apply for a loan or need to have your credit checked for a specific purpose, you could just go in an UNfreeze it temporarily to get that done. But to unfreeze it, the same fees would be paid again. So some consumers just didn’t bother with any of it simply because of the cost.

Well, the cost is no longer a factor. You can now freeze your credit file and that of your dependents, in any state in the US, at no cost. No more $10 charge per bureau, per person, to freeze or lift a freeze from your file.

This change came about as part of a new law called the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, which went into effect on May 24 of this year. If you want to be put to sleep by the actual full text of this law, you can read it here.

In addition to eliminating the fees mentioned above, the new law also requires the three bureaus to offer credit monitoring services for free to all active duty military personnel.

You can freeze your credit file by phone or by mail, but really the easiest way to do it is online. Just follow the instructions in my last post about this (linked above) but just skip the part about making a payment.

The post New information about protecting your identity first appeared on The Computer Tutor.

listen to my podcast Apple Podcasts — New information about protecting your identity Oct 15, 2018
Show notes

About a year ago I did a blog post and podcast about the absolute best way to protect the valuable personal identity information that’s stored in your credit files. Today I’ll let you know about an update to that, which makes it much easier to take action on this.

You can read my last blog post here. But the basic idea of it was this: You should freeze your credit file with each of the 3 main credit bureaus: TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax. There are a variety of benefits to this, but the main one is that a scammer couldn’t use your credit report to create new accounts and steal your good rating.

The cost for this was just $10 to freeze your file at each of the bureaus, so $30 total. And that’s $30 per person, so a couple would be $60. And since children have a social security number and other personal information that could be stolen, it would be $30 for each of your kids.

Then, if you do apply for a loan or need to have your credit checked for a specific purpose, you could just go in an UNfreeze it temporarily to get that done. But to unfreeze it, the same fees would be paid again. So some consumers just didn’t bother with any of it simply because of the cost.

Well, the cost is no longer a factor. You can now freeze your credit file and that of your dependents, in any state in the US, at no cost. No more $10 charge per bureau, per person, to freeze or lift a freeze from your file.

This change came about as part of a new law called the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, which went into effect on May 24 of this year. If you want to be put to sleep by the actual full text of this law, you can read it here.

In addition to eliminating the fees mentioned above, the new law also requires the three bureaus to offer credit monitoring services for free to all active duty military personnel.

You can freeze your credit file by phone or by mail, but really the easiest way to do it is online. Just follow the instructions in my last post about this (linked above) but just skip the part about making a payment.

The post New information about protecting your identity first appeared on The Computer Tutor.

me with Dave Jackson — Start your own podcast – interview with Dave Jackson Oct 01, 2018
Show notes

I’ve been doing my Computer Tutor podcast for over 6 years now. My new podcast, What Was That Like, has been live for just a couple of months and has a steadily growing audience. So I’ve been asked by some of my friends and clients, “How do you start a podcast?”. For that answer, I went to the podcast expert: Dave Jackson.

Dave Jackson has been podcasting since 2005 – that’s back when podcasting had barely begun to even exist. Since then, he’s created many shows of his own and they’ve been downloaded more than a million times (maybe close to two million by now).

He still does several shows regularly. The 3 that I listen to – every episode – are:

School of Podcasting – this is a podcast about podcasting, every Monday. It’s great information for anyone who is just starting to think about doing a podcast, or anyone who already has a podcast. Usually 45-60 minutes.

Podcast Rodeo Show – Dave picks a show, listens to it for a short time, then gives his honest opinion about what’s good and what could be improved. Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Usually around 10 minutes.

Building a Better Dave – this is Dave’s personal podcast where he gets really transparent and talks about stuff he’s observed, what’s going on in his life, or whatever he wants to talk about. No set schedule. Usually 15-20 minutes.

The thing about Dave is that in addition to being very knowledgeable about almost any aspect of podcasting, he’s also just a really nice guy. He’s someone you’d look forward to just hanging out with.

And recently, he was inducted into the Podcasting Hall of Fame. It’s safe to say he’s a great source of information about podcasting.

So for this week’s Computer Tutor blog and podcast, I actually invited Dave in and I asked him a bunch of questions about starting a podcast:

What do you like most about doing a podcast?

If someone asks you, “What is a podcast?”, what’s your quick answer?

What does it cost to start doing a podcast?

What mistake do most people make when starting their own podcast?

What was one of your shows that completely bombed?

How long before a new show starts making any money?

Why should a new podcaster hire you to help them get started?

And then I wanted to ask him a few non-podcast-related questions just to keep things interesting:

What’s something that most people don’t know about you, that they might find surprising?

What’s your biggest fear?

If you could say something to your 20 year old self, what would it be?

What are you excited about right now?

You’ll know when you listen to this that we had a lot of fun talking about podcasting and a variety of other things. To listen to our conversation right here on this page, just look at the podcast player that’s at the top of this blog post, make sure your speakers are on, and hit the Play button. Or you can listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher Radio, Google Podcasts, or whatever app you use to listen to podcasts.

And let me know what you think in the comments below!
The post Start your own podcast – interview with Dave Jackson first appeared on The Computer Tutor.

CCleaner — Time to get rid of CCleaner Sep 17, 2018
Show notes

In the world of computers and security, there are some companies that once had a decent reputation but went downhill and now cannot be recommended or trusted. I would now put CCleaner in that category. Here’s the story.

CCleaner was actually introduced in 2003 – 15 years ago. But it wasn’t rolled out under that name initially. Its original name was Crap Cleaner. This was because it was supposed to get rid of a lot of the things that might be clogging up your computer, such as registry errors and temp files. After a while, I guess the software developers decided that the word “crap” was offensive to some people so they just changed it to CCleaner.

Even back then, CCleaner was one of those programs that it SOUNDS like you might need for your computer. I mean, why wouldn’t you want to clear out those files and things to keep your computer running nice and fast? But in reality, it’s not something you ever needed. Cleaning out temp files and fixing registry errors (even though that initial scan might show hundreds or thousands of registry issues) just won’t make any noticeable difference in how your computer runs.

But it was free, so no harm done at that point, right?

Then a few years ago, it started to get obnoxious. I noticed when I saw it on a computer, there would be the CCleaner icon in the lower right corner – meaning that it was running all the time in the background. Apparently it was now “monitoring” the computer for problems. Well, that was not acceptable. The more programs you have running at the same time, the slower they all run. And since CCleaner does not provide any needed service anyway, I certainly didn’t want it to be slowing down the computer.

But since then, CCleaner has taken another step in the wrong direction.

Brief backstory – you may have read here or heard me on the podcast talking about AVG. A long time ago, it was a decent free antivirus program. For the past few years, however, it has been more of a distributor of malware rather than a preventer of it (I wrote about that here). It’s a bad thing to have on your computer. Well, AVG is owned by Avast (another bad antivirus). And as of about a year ago, CCleaner is also owned by Avast. So they are moving the same direction, and it’s not a good one.

Consider these observations:

By default, when you install CCleaner, it automatically runs in the background every time you boot up. This is the “monitoring feature” and in more recent versions it’s not easy to disable this.

You also can’t easily terminate the program when it’s running – there’s no option to “Exit” or “Quit”.

Avast purchased CCleaner in July 2017. Within a month, they were distributing a hacked, infected version to anyone who downloaded it. They didn’t even discover or correct this for 4 weeks. And Avast is supposed to be a security company.

The Avast web browser is designed to look very much like Chrome, and in some cases users think they are using Chrome but they are actually using this other inferior, bordering-on-malware browser.

CCleaner now comes with those wonderful pop-up advertisements that we all know and love.

When you consider all of those factors, on top of the fact that CCleaner’s functions aren’t even needed in the first place, it’s a no-brainer – get rid of it.

Fortunately, removal is easy – just go to Control Panel or Settings, find it in the list and Uninstall.

The post Time to get rid of CCleaner first appeared on The Computer Tutor.

listen to my podcast Apple Podcasts — Time to get rid of CCleaner Sep 17, 2018
Show notes

In the world of computers and security, there are some companies that once had a decent reputation but went downhill and now cannot be recommended or trusted. I would now put CCleaner in that category. Here’s the story.

CCleaner was actually introduced in 2003 – 15 years ago. But it wasn’t rolled out under that name initially. Its original name was Crap Cleaner. This was because it was supposed to get rid of a lot of the things that might be clogging up your computer, such as registry errors and temp files. After a while, I guess the software developers decided that the word “crap” was offensive to some people so they just changed it to CCleaner.

Even back then, CCleaner was one of those programs that it SOUNDS like you might need for your computer. I mean, why wouldn’t you want to clear out those files and things to keep your computer running nice and fast? But in reality, it’s not something you ever needed. Cleaning out temp files and fixing registry errors (even though that initial scan might show hundreds or thousands of registry issues) just won’t make any noticeable difference in how your computer runs.

But it was free, so no harm done at that point, right?

Then a few years ago, it started to get obnoxious. I noticed when I saw it on a computer, there would be the CCleaner icon in the lower right corner – meaning that it was running all the time in the background. Apparently it was now “monitoring” the computer for problems. Well, that was not acceptable. The more programs you have running at the same time, the slower they all run. And since CCleaner does not provide any needed service anyway, I certainly didn’t want it to be slowing down the computer.

But since then, CCleaner has taken another step in the wrong direction.

Brief backstory – you may have read here or heard me on the podcast talking about AVG. A long time ago, it was a decent free antivirus program. For the past few years, however, it has been more of a distributor of malware rather than a preventer of it (I wrote about that here). It’s a bad thing to have on your computer. Well, AVG is owned by Avast (another bad antivirus). And as of about a year ago, CCleaner is also owned by Avast. So they are moving the same direction, and it’s not a good one.

Consider these observations:

By default, when you install CCleaner, it automatically runs in the background every time you boot up. This is the “monitoring feature” and in more recent versions it’s not easy to disable this.

You also can’t easily terminate the program when it’s running – there’s no option to “Exit” or “Quit”.

Avast purchased CCleaner in July 2017. Within a month, they were distributing a hacked, infected version to anyone who downloaded it. They didn’t even discover or correct this for 4 weeks. And Avast is supposed to be a security company.

The Avast web browser is designed to look very much like Chrome, and in some cases users think they are using Chrome but they are actually using this other inferior, bordering-on-malware browser.

CCleaner now comes with those wonderful pop-up advertisements that we all know and love.

When you consider all of those factors, on top of the fact that CCleaner’s functions aren’t even needed in the first place, it’s a no-brainer – get rid of it.

Fortunately, removal is easy – just go to Control Panel or Settings, find it in the list and Uninstall.

The post Time to get rid of CCleaner first appeared on The Computer Tutor.

folders — Have folders re-open automatically after each restart Sep 03, 2018
Show notes

If you’re working on files in a certain folder and you have to do a restart, would you like to have that same folder open up automatically for you after that restart? It’s possible, and it’s really simple to do.

Sometimes I find myself in a predicament. I know it’s been a while since my computer was restarted, so I know I really need to do it. But…I’m working on my blog, or my podcast (or my new podcast) and I have these particular folders open. I know if I restart I’ll have to go back and open all these same folders again, and that just makes me think, “I’ll restart later”.

But with this Windows setting that I’m talking about today, I could do a restart, and all of those folders that I have open before the restart will automatically be open right there on my screen, after the restart!

And really, you probably know already that there are times when Windows decides to do some updates, and your computer is going to go ahead and restart whether you like it or not. Same benefit – after the restart, you can just start right up where you were working previously.

Here’s how you do this:

First, open the search function in the lower left corner of your Windows 10 screen, and type “file explorer options” – then click on File Explorer Options in the menu that comes up:

In the new window that opens, click the View tab, then look all the way to the right for the “Options” button. Click the drop-down and choose “Change folder and search options”:

Now you see the “Folder options” window. Click the “View” tab, then scroll down a little and check the box that says “Restore previous folder windows at logon”.

Then click OK, and you’re done.

Now you can test it. Open a few windows, then restart your computer. When it boots up again, there are your chosen windows, open and ready for you to use.

And this works for more than just File Explorer windows. You can do it with your Outlook email window, or your web browser. I have done it with Chrome, and it opens back up with the same tabs as before the restart. Pretty handy!

The post Have folders re-open automatically after each restart first appeared on The Computer Tutor.

file explorer options — Have folders re-open automatically after each restart Sep 03, 2018
Show notes

If you’re working on files in a certain folder and you have to do a restart, would you like to have that same folder open up automatically for you after that restart? It’s possible, and it’s really simple to do.

Sometimes I find myself in a predicament. I know it’s been a while since my computer was restarted, so I know I really need to do it. But…I’m working on my blog, or my podcast (or my new podcast) and I have these particular folders open. I know if I restart I’ll have to go back and open all these same folders again, and that just makes me think, “I’ll restart later”.

But with this Windows setting that I’m talking about today, I could do a restart, and all of those folders that I have open before the restart will automatically be open right there on my screen, after the restart!

And really, you probably know already that there are times when Windows decides to do some updates, and your computer is going to go ahead and restart whether you like it or not. Same benefit – after the restart, you can just start right up where you were working previously.

Here’s how you do this:

First, open the search function in the lower left corner of your Windows 10 screen, and type “file explorer options” – then click on File Explorer Options in the menu that comes up:

In the new window that opens, click the View tab, then look all the way to the right for the “Options” button. Click the drop-down and choose “Change folder and search options”:

Now you see the “Folder options” window. Click the “View” tab, then scroll down a little and check the box that says “Restore previous folder windows at logon”.

Then click OK, and you’re done.

Now you can test it. Open a few windows, then restart your computer. When it boots up again, there are your chosen windows, open and ready for you to use.

And this works for more than just File Explorer windows. You can do it with your Outlook email window, or your web browser. I have done it with Chrome, and it opens back up with the same tabs as before the restart. Pretty handy!

The post Have folders re-open automatically after each restart first appeared on The Computer Tutor.

Windows 10 fast startup — What is Windows “Fast Startup” option, and why disable it? Aug 20, 2018
Show notes

In a recent blog/podcast, I talked about the importance of restarting your computer in order to refresh the memory and speed it up. But some people actually powered down their computers and powered up again, and the “Up time” counter did not reset. That’s because of the Windows 10 “Fast Startup” option so we’ll talk about that today.

Thanks to my friend Larry for reminding me about this feature!

If you’re running Windows 10, there’s a built-in feature called Fast Startup. Guess what it does. That’s right, it helps your computer start up faster!

But you might not want it to do that.

Think of it like this. If you wanted to be dressed and ready to go in the morning as fast as possible, one way to achieve that would be to just not take off your clothes from the day before. Just sleep in them. So when you wake up and get out of bed, BOOM – you’re already dressed! So you’ve achieved the goal of being dressed quickly, but there’s a cost – your clothes are all wrinkled, and not really clean because you wore them the day before.

That’s kind of what this Fast Startup option does with Windows. You hit the power button and choose the Shut Down option, to turn off your computer. But what Windows 10 does is, it takes a “picture” of your computer’s state, and then puts it into a hybrid state between powered off and powered on.

The thing is, your computer DOES need to completely power down sometimes (as discussed in this blog back on July 9). So it might be a good idea if you disabled the Fast Startup option (though there is an exception, which I’ll cover in a minute). And in reality, you might not even see a noticeable difference in the bootup time when Fast Startup is turned off – especially if your computer has a solid state drive, which means it’s already really fast.

Here’s how you check the Fast Startup option and disable it if you want to:

Do a RIGHT click on the Start button, and choose Power Options.

In the new window that opens, click on “Additional power settings”:

In the next window, click on “Choose what the power buttons do”:

In the new window, look in the section called “Shutdown settings”. There will be a few options there, and one of them is “Turn on fast startup”. It’s probably already checked. If you can just uncheck it, go ahead.

If you can’t uncheck it, you might need to find “Change settings that are currently unavailable” in the top part of that window and click that first, THEN uncheck the Fast Startup box.

After that, just click “Save changes” and you’re all done.

Now, when you click “Shut down”, your computer will actually shut completely down.

NOTE: Here’s the exception. If you choose the “Restart” option, that actually DOES fully turn off your computer and turn it back on again. For some people, this may be sufficient. Since I do a restart pretty regularly, the Fast Startup option is not a critical thing.

The post What is Windows “Fast Startup” option, and why disable it? first appeared on The Computer Tutor.

Quick menu — What is Windows “Fast Startup” option, and why disable it? Aug 20, 2018
Show notes

In a recent blog/podcast, I talked about the importance of restarting your computer in order to refresh the memory and speed it up. But some people actually powered down their computers and powered up again, and the “Up time” counter did not reset. That’s because of the Windows 10 “Fast Startup” option so we’ll talk about that today.

Thanks to my friend Larry for reminding me about this feature!

If you’re running Windows 10, there’s a built-in feature called Fast Startup. Guess what it does. That’s right, it helps your computer start up faster!

But you might not want it to do that.

Think of it like this. If you wanted to be dressed and ready to go in the morning as fast as possible, one way to achieve that would be to just not take off your clothes from the day before. Just sleep in them. So when you wake up and get out of bed, BOOM – you’re already dressed! So you’ve achieved the goal of being dressed quickly, but there’s a cost – your clothes are all wrinkled, and not really clean because you wore them the day before.

That’s kind of what this Fast Startup option does with Windows. You hit the power button and choose the Shut Down option, to turn off your computer. But what Windows 10 does is, it takes a “picture” of your computer’s state, and then puts it into a hybrid state between powered off and powered on.

The thing is, your computer DOES need to completely power down sometimes (as discussed in this blog back on July 9). So it might be a good idea if you disabled the Fast Startup option (though there is an exception, which I’ll cover in a minute). And in reality, you might not even see a noticeable difference in the bootup time when Fast Startup is turned off – especially if your computer has a solid state drive, which means it’s already really fast.

Here’s how you check the Fast Startup option and disable it if you want to:

Do a RIGHT click on the Start button, and choose Power Options.

In the new window that opens, click on “Additional power settings”:

In the next window, click on “Choose what the power buttons do”:

In the new window, look in the section called “Shutdown settings”. There will be a few options there, and one of them is “Turn on fast startup”. It’s probably already checked. If you can just uncheck it, go ahead.

If you can’t uncheck it, you might need to find “Change settings that are currently unavailable” in the top part of that window and click that first, THEN uncheck the Fast Startup box.

After that, just click “Save changes” and you’re all done.

Now, when you click “Shut down”, your computer will actually shut completely down.

NOTE: Here’s the exception. If you choose the “Restart” option, that actually DOES fully turn off your computer and turn it back on again. For some people, this may be sufficient. Since I do a restart pretty regularly, the Fast Startup option is not a critical thing.

The post What is Windows “Fast Startup” option, and why disable it? first appeared on The Computer Tutor.

Dog kissing booth — Get a quick preview of almost any file on your PC Aug 06, 2018
Show notes

Back in Windows 7, it was easy to get a “Preview” of an image file that was stored on your computer. Just right click on the file, and choose Preview. That went away in Windows 10. But you can get back the preview option again – and not just for picture files.

Honestly I can’t figure out why Microsoft would do away with the ability to “Preview” an image file on your computer. It was so handy. When I started using Windows 10, I couldn’t believe it. If there was a picture file on my computer, and I wanted to see what it was, I would have to actually double click and OPEN it in a program. For me, that program is Photoshop. So if I wanted to see a picture, I had to wait for Photoshop to open and display it.

Yes, before people start emailing me – I know I could have just changed the display to the largest icons, but those thumbnail images aren’t the same as actually previewing the image in a larger window. So that wasn’t a solution.

So once again, Microsoft had something that was a great feature and very handy to use, and they eliminated it. So many things they do just defy logic.

AND, once again, some brilliant coder has come up with a way to not only bring back that feature that Microsoft took away, but make it so much better.

What I’m talking about is a little program called QuickLook.

It’s available for free download from the Windows Store (here). Just click the button that says “Get” and let it download and install.

I think it’s set by default to run each time you boot up your computer. That’s not something you want to set for every program without thinking about it, but for this program I’ve found that I use it so often it might as well just be running in the background all the time. I don’t notice that it slows down the computer. The icon looks like this in the lower right corner of your screen:

Here’s how it works.

Let’s say you have a folder with some pictures and you want to preview one of them. Like this one, where the first 4 files don’t have a meaningful file name:

All you have to do is click once on a file name to highlight it (like I’ve done in that picture above). Then hit the Space bar.

A new window opens immediately, showing a preview of that picture:

Now I am able to see a larger preview of that picture so I know what it is. And that’s not all! There are buttons across the top of the preview window.

Going from left to right, these buttons allow me to:

Force the preview window to stay on top of any other window I open

Prevent the preview window from closing

Open the image file with the program of my choice

See the file name

Open with Windows Photo Viewer

Make the preview window full screen

Close the preview window

That’s a LOT more than you used to be able to do with the traditional Windows Preview function. And that’s just with an image preview.

If you have an audio file, such as an mp3, you can preview and actually listen to it from the preview window.

If you have a video file, such as an mp4, you can watch it from the preview window.

You can also preview documents, such as Word or PDF files, or even Excel spreadsheets.

So you can probably see why I think this little app is pretty handy to have available. Try it out and let me know what you think of it.

The post Get a quick preview of almost any file on your PC first appeared on The Computer Tutor.

QuickLook — Get a quick preview of almost any file on your PC Aug 06, 2018
Show notes

Back in Windows 7, it was easy to get a “Preview” of an image file that was stored on your computer. Just right click on the file, and choose Preview. That went away in Windows 10. But you can get back the preview option again – and not just for picture files.

Honestly I can’t figure out why Microsoft would do away with the ability to “Preview” an image file on your computer. It was so handy. When I started using Windows 10, I couldn’t believe it. If there was a picture file on my computer, and I wanted to see what it was, I would have to actually double click and OPEN it in a program. For me, that program is Photoshop. So if I wanted to see a picture, I had to wait for Photoshop to open and display it.

Yes, before people start emailing me – I know I could have just changed the display to the largest icons, but those thumbnail images aren’t the same as actually previewing the image in a larger window. So that wasn’t a solution.

So once again, Microsoft had something that was a great feature and very handy to use, and they eliminated it. So many things they do just defy logic.

AND, once again, some brilliant coder has come up with a way to not only bring back that feature that Microsoft took away, but make it so much better.

What I’m talking about is a little program called QuickLook.

It’s available for free download from the Windows Store (here). Just click the button that says “Get” and let it download and install.

I think it’s set by default to run each time you boot up your computer. That’s not something you want to set for every program without thinking about it, but for this program I’ve found that I use it so often it might as well just be running in the background all the time. I don’t notice that it slows down the computer. The icon looks like this in the lower right corner of your screen:

Here’s how it works.

Let’s say you have a folder with some pictures and you want to preview one of them. Like this one, where the first 4 files don’t have a meaningful file name:

All you have to do is click once on a file name to highlight it (like I’ve done in that picture above). Then hit the Space bar.

A new window opens immediately, showing a preview of that picture:

Now I am able to see a larger preview of that picture so I know what it is. And that’s not all! There are buttons across the top of the preview window.

Going from left to right, these buttons allow me to:

Force the preview window to stay on top of any other window I open

Prevent the preview window from closing

Open the image file with the program of my choice

See the file name

Open with Windows Photo Viewer

Make the preview window full screen

Close the preview window

That’s a LOT more than you used to be able to do with the traditional Windows Preview function. And that’s just with an image preview.

If you have an audio file, such as an mp3, you can preview and actually listen to it from the preview window.

If you have a video file, such as an mp4, you can watch it from the preview window.

You can also preview documents, such as Word or PDF files, or even Excel spreadsheets.

So you can probably see why I think this little app is pretty handy to have available. Try it out and let me know what you think of it.

The post Get a quick preview of almost any file on your PC first appeared on The Computer Tutor.

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