The time to get this information is now, when all is working properly.

Windows 98, Windows ME and Windows XP include a tool called

"System Information" made precisely for this job. It captures a wealth

of diagnostic information about your entire system. From the Start

menu, open Programs, Accessories, and then the System Tools folder.

Double-click System Information. To get a printout of the details,

select Print off the File menu.

Odds are, you have passwords for Web sites, confidential files and

maybe even one to access your system. Make a list of your passwords and

store it in a secure place. Don't store the list on your computer. If

the hard drive is gone and you don't remember your passwords, that list

isn't any good.

It's not a happy thought, but someday, a family member may need access

to your computer's accounts and files when you are gone. I have

received many calls on my national talk radio show from people trying

to break into a deceased loved one's computer files. While tools exist

for this task, it not as easy as looking it up on a piece of paper.

Backups are like insurance. You may never need one, but when you do,

you are sure glad it's there. You don't have to back up everything on

your hard drive. Just copy your personal files. If a disaster occurs,

you can reinstall your programs on the replacement hard drive.

Traditionally, backups have been done to tape drives. But tape drives

are expensive and slow. And tapes are costly, too. Instead, consider

adding a second hard drive to your system. You could also use an

external hard drive (more expensive), a Zip drive, or a CD or DVD

burner. Forget floppies; they're too small.

To really be safe, the backup medium (tape, CD or DVD, etc.) should

be removed from your site. If you are backing up to tape, for instance,

and you leave the tape cartridge in the machine, you'll be protected

if the hard drive fails. But if the equipment is stolen, or your house

burns to the ground, the backup will be lost.

These are the alphanumeric numbers you must enter when installing

software. If your hard drive dies, you'll probably need to reinstall

the software. Without those keys, you might have to buy new software.

Make a record of those numbers. They're probably on your installation

disk cases.

Find a storage place for your software installation discs. Be sure

they're all there. I can't tell you how many sad stories I've heard

about missing discs. It's bad enough to lose your hard drive. Having

to buy a new copy of Microsoft Office would really be rubbing salt

into the wound.

Want to change what gets printed on the bottom of the Web pages that you print using Internet Explorer? Easy. From within Internet Explorer, select File and then, Page Setup. You just need to enter special codes into the Header (what gets printed at the top of the page) and the Footer (what gets printed at the bottom of the page) boxes. For example, to have the Web page's address printed, you would enter "&u" without the quotes. You can combine codes, too. To see a list of codes, click on the question mark in the upper right corner in the Page Setup menu and then, click on either the Header or Footer box.

Ever visit a Web site, and find that the browser's Back button was

disabled? Some Web sites disable your back button to keep you on their

site. If this happens, right click on the back button. You'll see a

list of pages that you have visited. Click something on that list to

move back. This works for the Forward button, too.

*****************************************************

*****************************************************

QT BONUS: THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

--> AOL GETS INTO EVERYTHING, INCLUDING IE'S TRUSTED LIST

When you install America Online, you'll find its icons all over the

place. Four or five will land on your desktop, where they are easily

deleted. You'll probably fik

There are lots of bad people on the Internet who want to hurt you. For

starters, there are the tricksters. They e-mail you an official looking

notice, usually from your Internet service provider, credit card

company, eBay, PayPal or another organization.

At first glance, the e-mail looks legitimate. The e-mail often contains

the company's logos along with a request to update your account

information at their Web site. But the link within the e-mail is not

the company's site; it belongs to the tricksters.

Just clicking the link could get you into trouble. If you don't have a

firewall protecting your system (more about that later), it is possible

for these malicious types to still get you. They can place a program on

your computer that gives them full access to all files.

The bogus Web sites even look like the real thing. Navigation bars on

the fake sites take you to the actual company's site. Some trickster

sites even include the real company's privacy policies, assuring you

that the information you are about to transmit is secure.

One thing that the tricksters cannot duplicate is the real company's

Web address. Usually, they include the real company's name somewhere to

fool you. Pay close attention to the Web site address. If it is not the

company's main address, put your guard up.

In fact, it's very unlikely that a legitimate organization will

send e-mail that directs you to a Web site to update your account

information. If you get a message like this, delete it. If you

aren't sure, call the company.

As if the tricksters aren't enough, "social engineering" is on the

rise. Here, authors of covert programs entice you to download a file.

Maybe you get spam or a message in a chat room that offers naughty

pictures. You click the link and download a program. It might include

the pictures. It might also include a secret program.

The latter could be a Trojan Horse. These are programs used to collect

personal information (passwords, credit card information, Social

Security number, etc.) stored on a computer and send it all back to

someone on the Internet.

How can you protect yourself? First, don't reply to spam. Many things

can happen if you do. Probably none of them will be good. So use your

head. But you may need more than common sense. That, naturally, brings

us to having a firewall.

Firewalls watch what comes in and what goes out of your computer when

you are online. If a rogue program is planted on your computer, it

can't report back to its master without your permission.

In addition, would-be intruders use scanners to find machines hooked

to the Internet that have open communications ports. These ports can be

used to send data back to the Internet. If your machine is identified

as vulnerable, you could be targeted for attack.

People with broadband, always-on connections are especially

susceptible. They almost always have a fixed Internet address. Those

with dial-up connections are less vulnerable, because their address

usually changes each time they sign-on. Nonetheless, everyone should

have a firewall.

There are hardware and software firewalls. If you are sharing an

Internet connection, firewalls are typically built into a router.

Otherwise, you'll need a software program to do the job.

Several companies offer free software firewalls for personal use,

including Agnitum's Outpost, http://www.agnitum.com, Sygate's Personal

Firewall, http://www.sygate.com and ZoneAlarm, http://www.zonelabs.com.

Windows XP also includes a firewall, Internet Connection Firewall.

I don't recommend it because it does not stop outbound transmissions.

Finally, there are viruses. Most are sent via e-mail as attachments.

They are launched when you open the attachment. Some viruses are so

sophisticated that they disable anti-virus software. They also get into

your address book, and send themselves via e-mail to everyone there.

Combat viruses by using anti-virus software. Never open an e-mail

attachment without scanning it first. And be sure to keep your anti-

virus software updated. If the software doesn't know about the virus,

it cannot protect you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ad-aware apparently has had problems when removing a few programs.

It was so thorough that it took the victim's Internet connection out.

The maker, Lavasoft, says it has solved that problem in Build 162. In

Version 6.0, the build number is on the opening window, at the bottom

right. If you don't have Build 162, download a new copy. Get it through

my site: http://www.komando.com/bestshareware.asp

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What kind of speeds are you getting? There are tests you can run

online. Here are a couple sites to check out:

http://www.dslreports.com/stest

http://www.bandwidthspeedtest.com/speedtest/

And there's freeware and shareware to tell you, too. Once installed on

your system, these programs report the exact speed of your Internet

connection. Read the screens when you install the software. Some will

try to trick you into upgrading while installing. Don't fall for it.

Try the software first. If you like it, then look at the features

offered by the paid version.

*****************************************************

The Application Accelerator is a program that Intel says will speed

transmission of data from peripherals, such as the hard drive, to the

microprocessor. It is a free download.

In addition to making things run faster, Intel says the accelerator

will make the computer boot faster. It also sets the transfer of data

from peripherals at the highest possible rate. Intel says the changes

are automatic, requiring no human intervention. You can download the

software at: http://www.intel.com/support/chipsets/iaa/

Intel also offers free software to identify your chipset and

microprocessor. Check them out at:

http://www.intel.com/support/chipsets/inf/chipsetid.htm

*****************************************************

The Federal Trade Commission is preparing to accept signups for

a national Do Not Call list. Most telemarketers will be forbidden

to call the people who sign up.

The FTC effort doesn't begin until July. But California (and probably

other states) have already launched signups. You can get more

information at:

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/donotcall/index.html

http://nocall.doj.state.ca.us/

Both the FTC and California warn of possible scams in these signups.

You could receive telephone calls or spam soliciting your Social

Security number or other sensitive information. Don't fall for that.

No one legitimate will solicit you for the Do Not Call list.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Q. I would like to put a picture into a folder icon in Windows

Explorer. Can I do that? I use Windows XP.

-- Joe in Phoenix, listening on KFYI 550 AM.

A. You can do that, with some restrictions. The picture can help you

remember what is in the folder. Plus, the effect is pretty cool.

To use pictures, though, you'll have to stick with the Thumbnails view

in Windows Explorer. The other four views will not work. And the

picture must be on your hard drive. If necessary, scan in a picture and

save it as a JPEG, with the extension .JPG.

Only folders on the right side of Windows Explorer can display

pictures. When those same folders appear on the left side, they will

have the standard yellow icons.

So let's get on with it. First, click View and Thumbnails. Right-click

the folder you want to use. Select Properties. Click the Customize tab.

Click Choose Picture and navigate to the picture file. Click the

picture file and click Open. Click Apply>>Save. You can also change the

yellow folder icon. Windows has a ton of icons available. To try them

out, go once more to the Customize tab. At the bottom of the window,

click Change Icon. Make your choice and click OK. Click Apply>>OK. This

changes the icons on both sides of the screen.

If you want a custom icon, try making one in Paint. To find that, click

Start>>All Programs>>Accessories>>Paint. In Paint, click Image>>

Attributes. Set Width and Height to 32 pixels. Draw your design, then

click File>>Save As. Save it to any folder on the hard drive.

Next, right click the folder you want to change and go to Customize.

Click Choose Picture and navigate to your custom design. Click the

design file, then click Open. Click Apply>>OK.

You can make this icon appear in all views, not just Thumbnail. To do

that, on the Customize window, click Change Icon. Click the Browse

button to find the drawing, then follow the procedure above.

Use a shareware program to change the folder icons in Windows 98 and

ME. I tried two: E-Icons, http://www.deepgls.com/eicons/, $19, and

Microangelo, http://www.microangelo.us/, $40. I preferred E-Icons;

it was more intuitive.

Warmly,

Kim :)

A study by the Center for Democracy and Technology did discover

where spammers find their targets. None of it is very surprising.

Basically, the center found that if you put your e-mail address in a

public place, the spammers will harvest it with special software. Web

sites that request addresses and news groups were favorite places.

Here are some tips. More convoluted e-mail addresses are less likely

to be guessed than simple ones. So if you need to put your e-mail

address on a Web site or sign a guest book online, use something like

kim(remove_this_part)@domain.com. Hopefully, people will know to

make it kim@domain.com. The harvesting software doesn't

differentiate, so the address is unusable for the spammers.

Here's what I do: I have a special e-mail address that I use when I

have to give my address. For instance, some free sites require

registration, including an e-mail address. My special e-mail address

is buried in spam. I just go in once per week and delete everything.

You can read the report from the Center for Democracy and Technology

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

See you next month JUNE 7^th

Michael Shalkey