• Home
  • About
    • OUR PARTNER COMPANY
  • Service
    • REQUEST SERVICE
    • REQUEST A CLASS
  • Coaching
  • Reviews
  • Contact
  • Blog
  CompuConfidence - Achieving your goals with computers

Blog

How To Add A Signature To Outlook

4/25/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
In assisting our clients we have helped clients to update or create their email signature in Microsoft Outlook (the application in Microsoft Office).  If this is something you would like to do or if you would like to create a personal electronic business card to send in your daily emails, we wanted to share how to do this with you.  To learn more click here.
0 Comments

Solutions to common problems

4/21/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
Many times, common problems can be fixed using simple troubleshooting techniques, like closing and reopening the program. It's important to try these simple solutions before resorting to more extreme measures. If the problem still isn't fixed, you can try other troubleshooting techniques.

Problem: Power button will not start computer
  • Solution 1: If your computer does not start, begin by checking the power cord to confirm that it is plugged securely into the back of the computer case and the power outlet.
  • Solution 2: If it is plugged into an outlet, make sure it is a working outlet. To check your outlet, you can plug in another electrical device, such as a lamp or cellphone, and see if it receives electricity properly.
  • Solution 3: If the computer is plugged into a surge protector, verify that it is turned on. You may have toreset the surge protector by turning it off and then back on. You can also plug a lamp or other device into the surge protector to verify that it is on.
  • Solution 4: If you are using a laptop, the battery may not be charged. Plug the AC adapter into the wall, then try to turn on the laptop. If it still doesn't start up, you may need to wait a few minutes and try again.

Problem: An application is running slowly
  • Solution 1: Close and reopen the application.
  • Solution 2: Update the application. To do this, click the Help menu and look for an option to check forUpdates. If you don't find this option, another idea is to run an online search for application updates.

Problem: An application is frozen
Sometimes an application may become stuck, or frozen. When this happens, you won't be able to close the window or click any buttons within the application.
  • Solution 1: Force quit the application. On a PC, you can press (and hold) Ctrl+Alt+Delete (the Control, Alt, and Delete keys) on your keyboard to open the Task Manager. On a Mac, press and holdCommand+Option+Esc. You can then select the unresponsive application and click End task (or Force Quiton a Mac) to close it.
  • Solution 2: Restart the computer. If you are unable to force quit an application, restarting your computer will close all open apps.

Problem: All programs on the computer run slowly
  • Solution 1: Run your virus scanner. You may have malware running in the background that is slowing things down.
  • Solution 2: Your computer may be running out of hard drive space. Try deleting any files or programs you don't need.
  • Solution 3: If you're using a PC, you can run Disk Defragmenter (called Optimize Drives in Windows 8 and Windows 10). Doing so will make sure all pieces of each file or program are stored close together in your computer, so the computer will be able to access them more quickly. In most versions of Windows, the Disk Defragmenter can be found in the Start menu. In Windows 8, you can find it by typing defragment from the Start screen. In Windows 10, you can type defragment in the search bar or Cortana.
0 Comments

CompuConfidence's Growth Increase

4/20/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
As GW Technology Solutions continues to acquire new clients and increase the number of services offered, more businesses are requesting that we help them maintain and improve their systems. Additionally, we continue to complete courses in order to improve our ability level and to ensure that our clients continue to be more than satisfied with the our knowledge level and the services delivered.
0 Comments

What is Spam?

4/19/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
​Spam is usually considered to be electronic junk mail or junk newsgroup postings. Some people define spam even more generally as any unsolicited email. However, if a long-lost brother finds your email address and sends you a message, this could hardly be called spam, even though it is unsolicited. Real spam is generally email advertising for some product sent to a mailing list or newsgroup.

Merriam Webster defines spam as unsolicited usually commercial e-mail sent to a large number of addresses

Origin:  From a skit on the British television series Monty Python's Flying Circus in which chanting of the word Spam overrides the other dialogue.

First Known Use: 1994.
0 Comments

How To Create A Good Email Signature

4/18/2016

1 Comment

 
Picture
There are number of tools to send emails through, whether you use and application, like Outlook (in the Office Suite), or a web-based email tool, like Gmail.com, Yahoo.com, Outlook.com, or others.  To learn how to create an good email signature in these platforms and some helpful tips about creating an email signature, click here. ​
photo credit: Secure E-Mail via photopin (license)
1 Comment

What is Malware?

4/12/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
​Malware is an abbreviated term which means “malicious software.” This is software that is designed to gain access or damage a computer without the knowledge of the owner. There are various types of malware including spyware, keyloggers, true viruses, worms, or any type of malicious code that infiltrates a computer.

Malware creation is on the rise due to the sheer volume of new types created daily and the lure of money that can be made through organized internet crime. Malware was originally created as experiments and pranks, but eventually led to vandalism and destruction of targeted machines. Today, much of malware is created for profit through forced advertising (adware), stealing sensitive information (spyware), spreading email spam, or extort money (ransomware). 

Some categories of malware are:
Virus - Software that can replicate itself and spread to other computers or are programmed to damage a computer by deleting files, reformatting the hard disk, or using up computer memory.
Adware - Software that is financially supported (or financially supports another program) by displaying ads when you're connected to the Internet.
Spyware - Software that surreptitiously gathers information and transmits it to interested parties. Types of information that is gathered includes the Websites visited, browser and system information, and your computer IP address.
Browser hijacking software - Advertising software that modifies your browser settings (e.g., default home page, search bars, toolbars), creates desktop shortcuts, and displays intermittent advertising pop-ups. Once a browser is hijacked, the software may also redirect links to other sites that advertise, or sites that collect Web usage information.
0 Comments

Malicious Software On Laptop

4/8/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
Recently, a client of mine contacted me about a problem they were having on their laptop.  It seemed that their laptop battery was no longer holding the charge longer than 2 hours.  This was a Toshiba laptop that was running Windows 7.  After the client downloaded a utility to check whether the battery was part of a recall order by Toshiba, and would be replaced, the laptop would no longer start up correctly.  There are a couple of things that I would like to offer as advise for Windows users.  It is a good idea to install most, if not all, of the Windows Updates.  You may think the computer is running fine now, but many of the updates are developed to protect the operating system from vulnerabilities.  The other recommendation is to be sure you have a good antivirus program installed and running on your computer.  These actions can protect you from a lot of the problems that can occur.  Making sure the computer updates were up-to-date, running an antivirus program. and using some other utilities to correct the original problem fixed the responsiveness of the laptop, and the client was happy with the result.
0 Comments

Is My Computer Upgradeable to Windows 10?

4/7/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
Although Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 Operating Systems can be upgraded to Windows 10, not all computer models support the upgrade to Windows 10.  An example of this was a client who I recently helped.  The laptop that she used was an older Toshiba laptop, running Windows 7 Home Premium.  With the generality that all Windows 7 and Windows 8 computers can be updated to Windows 10, you would think that there would be no problem doing this.  

After the upgrade to Windows 10, I started getting the Black Screen of Death when starting up the computer.  This is different than the Blue Screen of Death as the screen is completely Black with either just a mouse, just a blinking cursor, or simply nothing on the screen.  In this case, there was nothing at all on the screen.  I researched this some more and found that Toshiba's website listed the models that were supported for the Windows 10 upgrade, and the model of the Toshiba laptop that she had was not.  After running some diagnostics, I found that it was the video (display) driver that was creating the problem after the upgrade.  

​I installed the correct video driver from Safe Mode and although the resolution was lower than it had been in Windows 7, it allowed her to use Windows 10 on that laptop.  The lesson I learned from this was that you should definitely look at the manufacturer's website to verify that your computer model is supported. ​
0 Comments

What is an Operating System?

4/5/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
An Operating System (OS) is system software* that manages computer hardware and software resources and provides common services for computer programs. Application programs (or Apps) usually require an operating system to function.

*System software is a type of computer program that is designed to run a computer's hardware and application programs. (The system software is the interface between the hardware and user applications.)
0 Comments

April Fools Jokes for Computers

4/1/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
After researching April Fools jokes that could be played on someone else's computers, I found that there were some pretty mean things that people could do to each other that would stop each other's productivity and leave their victims confused as to what was happening.  Here are some simple gags that could be done.

Mouse Trap
Difficulty : Easy
Time: 1 -2 minutes

Take some tape and place it over the optical laser of the victim's mouse.
When the victim tries to use the mouse the cursor won't move.
You will see you victim confused as they will not know what happened.

Unplugged
Difficulty: Easy
Time: 10-20 seconds

Unplug the keyboard and/or mouse from the computer.

What's Wrong With Word
Difficulty: Easy
Time: 2 - 3 minutes

This is a classic word prank. (Note - This only works on XP computers which have office 2003)
1. Open Microsoft word
2. Hold down [cntrl] + [N]
This will open up about 450 word documents. 
This is funny because it takes them a while to close them all down.

Windows doesn't work
Difficulty: Hard
Time: 5 minutes

1. Press and hold [shift] + [PrtScn]
2. Open Microsoft powerpoint
3. Press [ctrl] +[v], this will paste a screen shot.
4. Resize the image to fit in the box.
5. Select the slide and press [cnrtl] +[c]
6. Hold [cntrl] + [v] (This will copy and paste the slide many times)
7. When you have reached 200 - 500 stop and press F5.
This will produce a slide show of the screen. Some people are so silly the will not know what is wrong.
(Note - This doesn't work well with computer that have widescreen monitor's)

For more jokes that may take more time to figure out, click here.
​
0 Comments

    Author

    Write something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview.

    Archives

    August 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

  • Home
  • About
    • OUR PARTNER COMPANY
  • Service
    • REQUEST SERVICE
    • REQUEST A CLASS
  • Coaching
  • Reviews
  • Contact
  • Blog