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.
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
Problem: An application is running slowly
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.
Problem: All programs on the computer run slowly
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.
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. 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.
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. 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.
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. 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.) 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. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
August 2016
Categories |