Got your new hosting account, anxious to start emailing everyone but cannot understand what your service provider means?
A lot of clients have asked for help in setting up an email account so I have put together a ’step by step’ guide for Microsoft Outlook. If you still need help, please email me.
Step 1: Launch Microsoft Outlook and select ‘Tools’ from the main top menu’. Select ‘Email Accounts’ from the drop down menu. A pop up window will appear - select ‘Add a new e-mail account’ - click ‘Next’
Step 2: Select ‘POP 3′ from the list and then click ‘Next’
Step 3:
-User Information: Enter your name and email address.
-Logon Information: Enter your user name (usually your entire email address) and the password assigned.
-Server Information:
Your incoming mail server will be given to you by your email hosting company and will be something like - ‘mail.your-isp.com.au’. If you haven’t got this information, ask your Internet service provider.
Outgoing mail server: This will be the address given to you by your internet access provider. It may be something like - mail.bigpond.net
Please note: If you have a separate internet account to your email/web hosting, the outgoing address will differ.
-Click on ‘Test Account Settings’ - a new pop up window will show the progress.
-If there are no errors, you will see a ‘congratulations’ message.
Minggu, 01 Februari 2009
Set Up Your New ‘Pop’ Account
Remotely Accessing Your Home Computer
Windows XP operating system contains the software needed to remotely access your home computer from any Internet connection. This is a powerful tool when you are traveling and need to have full access to your home computer to keep your business running efficiently
If you are going to be an online entrepreneur, you always need to have access to your computer when you are away from home. Some people use laptops for home and travel, but many prefer to have use a desktop or tower model PC.
When we retire and are using the Internet for our retirement job, it is very important that we can access the Internet since working on the Internet is our life blood. There are several software packages on the market that will enable you to access your computer as though you were sitting in front of your own monitor. Some of the better known ones are www.GoToMyPC.com and LogMeIn.com. GoToMyPC.com costs $49.95 for the initial setup and between $18.95 and $24.95 per month depending on the plan you choose. LogMeIn.com has a limited feature free version which you might investigate. The full version costs $12.95 per month for a single PC.
The great news is that Microsoft has created a package that is included in the XP Windows operating system. It can also be downloaded from the XP System CD to other operating systems. This will allow the computer to access the remote computer. This software uses the Terminal Server package which only transmits mouse, keyboard, and display information so it is fairly effective over a slow bandwidth connection.
You can install this on your home computer and access the home computer from a laptop that you might carry or from any Internet connection when you are on the road.
My road laptop is running Windows 2000 Professional so I loaded the software on it from my Windows XP system disk and it works very well. When you are traveling, you will be able to use any computer running Windows XP if the Remote Desktop software is installed on it. Most of the hotel business centers and Internet cafes have this set up. All you will need is the IP address of your home computer.
If you want to set this up, click the Start button and select Help and Support. Search on "remote desktop". You will get the information that you need to set up the connection. NOTE: You need a fixed IP address to which to connect. Some Internet Service Providers (ISP’s) do not assign a fixed IP, but rather give you a variable IP address. Most will issue you a fixed IP address for a one time fee or for an additional monthly fee. My fixed IP address cost a one time fee of $25. You need the fixed IP so you can always connect to the same address when the connection is configured. Check with your IP to see what your situation is.
If you have a firewall/router on your system and have a home network, you will also need to make your own computer IP address fixed within your network. This is done by clicking Start/Control Panel/Network Connections. Right click on the icon of the connection that takes you to the Internet and select Properties. In the scroll down window, highlight Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and click the properties button below the scroll down window. Click the radio button. "Use the Following IP Address". Enter the IP address to be assigned to the computer. Most computers on Windows are in the 192.168.1.NNN number range. Usually, the lower numbers are assigned first by the software so skip to 101 for the rightmost address in the IP string (192.168.1.101). The subnet mask is 255.255.255.0. The default gateway is usually 192.168.1.1. Leave the DNS server information alone. Click OK twice. Now try to access the Internet to make certain that nothing has been changed that will prevent you from operating your computer. If you cannot access the Internet, go back through the process above and turn on the radio button that says "Obtain an IP Address Automatically" and it will reset back to your old processes. At that point, I suggest you use your software support guru to help you do the job.
If you have a router, you will need to direct the input from port 3389 to your fixed IP address (192.168.1.101). This is done by logging onto your router and setting up the port routing settings. This is not as difficult as it sounds. Read the router instructions and you can do it. As a precaution, write down the router settings before you change them so you can reset to the original values if something does not work properly.
To log on, go to Start/Programs/Accessories/Communications/Remote Desktop Connection. Enter your Internet IP address in the box and click Connect. If all is well, you should see the logon box for your user and password. Caution: If you have someone sharing your computer at home, warn them that the display may suddenly show the login screen. When you are on the remote connection, no one can use the home computer until you finish.
Sometimes we are careless about passwords on our home computers. Since you will be accessing your computer over the Internet, create a strong password for your login. Make it at least eight characters long and make it a mix of upper and lower case letters, numbers, and special characters.
When you log in, your job will be a window on the computer you are using for the access. There is a job bar at the top of the screen of the remote software. It has the IP address of the computer being accessed and the standard Windows Minimize, Reduce, and Close. While you are working on the computer, you can minimize the remote window and work locally and the connection will remain active. This will allow you to look up data on your home computer, copy it to the clipboard, minimize the remote window, and paste the information into an application running on the local computer.
I have used this feature for over six months now and it has worked very well for me.
One other consideration is to make certain that your home computer does not shut down while you are away. If a family member is there to restart it if you call and ask for help, this is not a problem, but if you are on vacation and no one is there to help, you have a problem.
Purchase a UPS (not the brown truck) but an uninterruptible power supply and install it on your computer. This will keep your computer running if there is a short power outage. There are bargains on good refurbished UPS units on the Internet. Buy one large enough to keep your computer running for twenty to thirty minutes if your power fails. Most of the time the power will be restored in less time than that.
Try it and see how it works. Good computing.
Local Residents Under Threat From Poor Computer Security
Local businessman and computer expert Dave Page, who runs Hybrid Computers, is warning home computer users in the Aylesbury area to beware that they are leaving themselves open to identity theft, spying and viruses from unscrupulous broadband hackers.
Typical home surfers shop and bank online; they use popular auction sites such as eBay and are likely to book their holiday on the net too. Lack of computer security is a growing menace for people unaware of the risks that using an unsecured internet connection can cause. The increasing use of laptops that use wireless broadband is adding to the problem. Surfing the net while relaxing in the garden during the warm summer weather may seem a luxury, but vulnerable users can be easily exploited.
Mr Page said: “Home surfers have a huge amount of personal information on their PCs. Every time they shop online, they are transferring that information across cyberspace. If they are using an unprotected Wi-Fi connection, rogue users within signal range can surf the net at the expense of someone else’s phone bill. This may seem fairly harmless, but it can have a dramatic effect on your surfing speed. But worse, experienced hackers can gain access to your data, files, personal information and more, without you noticing.”
He warned that having up-to-date anti-virus software and a firewall is also vital to prevent your computer from being disabled by viruses and spyware programmes that can reveal what you do on the internet. Mr Page explained: “Many users already have viruses and spyware on their PCs but are unaware that they are open to attack. Protecting yourself from these problems is really simple. Most home users just need their security settings enabled on equipment they already own. Others just need some additional software, which is very cost-effective compared with the cost of having your identity cloned or your internet connection exploited.
Hybrid Computers deals with these kinds of problems on a daily basis. Dave Page set up the company as he felt the Aylesbury area was not well served, with most computer companies only providing protection for businesses. He said: “The reason that thousands of local residents have no security on their wireless networks isn’t down to expense; it’s simply that they have no idea of how to set it up. It costs next to nothing to secure your PC and avoid problems. I recommend that everyone secures their computer today before it is too late.”
Windows Registry Structure And Function
You can view the structure of the Windows Registry when you open it up with a Registry Editor utility like REGEDIT.EXE or REGEDT32.EXE.
If you’ve never opened the Registry before, you might be surprised and comforted by its familiar-looking layout. Its hierarchical data structure is much like the data structure you see everyday in Windows Explorer, except here the tree structure units are keys, subkeys, and values rather than directories, subdirectories, and files. But any intuitive understanding of the Registry’s content (for most people) ends right here, because the registry was designed more for the operating system and installed applications than for humans.
The Registry’s hierarchical data structure and central location allow Windows and hosted applications to quickly locate their configuration settings and default parameters, but these parameters have values in the Registry that are different from their internally-defined values used by the applications themselves. This can make altering application settings from within the Registry a grueling and tedious task, and this is why most changes to Registry data are more easily (and more safely) made by changing settings from within individual applications or system utilities.
A Closer Look at Registry Structure
The primary divisions of the Windows Registry are seen a list of 4-6 expandable folders, called root keys or subtrees, in the left pane of the Registry Editor window. These can be expanded to show the keys and subkeys, and these can be expanded in turn to show further subkeys below or their value entries listed on the right pane in Registry Editor. The Registry subtrees and a description of their contents are as follows:
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE (HKLM): This root key (or subtree) contains configuration data specific to the local computer, including its hardware devices and operating system components. The information contained within HKLM is independent of the current user and applications or processes in use.
• HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT (HKCR): This root key contains the file-class, OLE, and COM object data. The keys, subkeys, and data within this subtree are linked to (and identical to) those contained in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Classes\ subtree.
• HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG (HKCC): This root key is added to make current versions of Windows compatible with older Windows 95 applications. It is derived from HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\HardwareProfiles\Current and contains configuration settings for all currently active hardware.
• HKEY_CURRENT_USER (HKCU): This root key contains profile information for the user currently logged in. Each time a user logs on, HKCU is rebuilt with that user’s profile data from HKEY_USERS.
• HKEY_USERS (HKU): This root key contains the default profile and the profiles of all users who have logged onto the computer.
• HKEY_DYN_DATA (HKDD): This root key is found only on Windows 95/98/ME. It is linked to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and contains information about Plug and Play hardware components. HKDD , for use with the Plug-&-Play features of Windows, this section will change as devices are added and removed from the system.
The “HKEY_” at the beginning of each root key’s name indicates that the key is a unique identifier (or handle) that programs can use to access resources. Each of these root keys branches out, first into keys and then further into subkeys. At the end of these branches of keys and subkeys lay the Registry data, or value entries, corresponding to the data stored in the hive files. The Windows Registry can store several different value types, but the most common that you will see are binary, strings (text for humans), and DWORD (Boolean) values.
Registry Hives
Much of the information contained in the Registry is stored on the computer’s hard drive as a set of binary data files aptly named “hives”. The hives are permanent Registry components, serving as both supporting files from which Windows retrieves Registry data during system startup, and as backup files that the Registry writes to each time its supporting data is altered or changed through a process called flushing. Flushes are automatic and occur within a few seconds after changes are made to the Registry.
Increase Your System Performance with a few Basic Windows XP Tweaks
Increase Your System Performance with a few Basic Windows XP Tweaks
Windows XP is currently the most popular operating system for personal computers and comes in two broad categories--XP Home and XP Pro. XP home is designed for home users who do not need the more heavyweight corporate applications such as a web server but still require a scalable and reliable operating system. While Windows XP runs well out of the box, there are tricks that can be used to optimize your installation. There are great Windows XP tweaks that involve broadband settings, registry entries, and other under utilized components of WinXP.
While this first group of tips can not properly be considered Windows XP tweaks, they are so important that they should be included in any guide that discusses WinXP performance and efficiency. The single most important thing you can do to ensure to WinXP performance is to make sure that your computer is free from viruses, trojans, spyware, and other pieces of software that could serve to slow down or otherwise compromise the functioning of your WinXP computer. The first thing that you should do, particularly if you have an always on broadband connection, is to install a firewall. A firewall locks down the software entry points (called ports) that applications use interact with your computer. Ports are simply numbers that, when combined with your internet protocol (IP) address, specify a single channel of network communication. Some ports should usually be open, such as port 80 which allows web HTTP communication to occur, but others should be locked unless they are needed by a legitimate program. By default, the entire range of ports is open to the world on a WinXP machine. A firewall blocks all unused ports and lets the WinXP user decide which ports to open. WinXP service pack 2 contains a firewall that is on by default. Another member of this class of Windows XP tweaks is to install anti virus and anti spyware software. These programs can clear up the malicious pieces of software that siphon of your WinXP machine's performance.
Once you have implemented the above vital Windows XP tweaks, it is time to look at other performance based steps that you can use. The WinXP registry is a centralized data structure that WinXP programs, including WinXP itself, use to store configuration data. The registry can quickly become crowded and hence more slow to search. Particularly if you remove unused programs that do not uninstall properly, they may leave behind garbage in the registry that can cause registry searches to slow. Since registry searches can occur at any time during program execution (particularly during start up), a clogged WinXP registry can cause the entire system to slow. There are numerous free and share ware programs out there that can help you clean your WinXP registry. It is not advisable to muck around the registry yourself, and always be sure to back up your registry before making any changes.
Another important class of Windows XP tweaks is to keep your hard drive defragmented. Hard drives become fragmented when application programs save different parts of files in different places on your hard drive. For example, in order to maximize available space, WinXP may decide to save part of your file in different places on the hard drive. This means that access time for that file will become slow. Over time, your hard drive can accumulate many such fragmented files and generally become a mess. This can slow your computer down a great deal. Fortunately, it is easy to de-fragment your hard drive using built in WinXP utilities. The process can take a number of hours to complete, so many people choose to de-fragment their hard drive overnight.
What is Windows Vista?
What is Windows Vista? I have been getting this a lot lately with all of the buzz and hype on the Internet. Windows Vista is the newest PC Operating System to be launched in November 2006. The system has already been sent out to over 2 million users for beta testing and has got huge reviews!
Windows Vista improves application quality, enables developers to create richer, easier-to-use applications, and adds comprehensive APIs for accessing connectivity infrastructure.
1.) Find and Use Information - Increasing user productivity by making it easier to find and use information.
2.) Enable Mobile Workforce - Enabling a better connected more collaborative and more secure mobile workforce.
3.) Improve Security and Compliance - Helping protect your data, secure your environment, and make it easier to achieve compliance with regulations and policies.
4.) Optimize Desktop Infrastructure - Reducing cost and complexity of deploying, managing, and supporting your company PCs.
With the advances in Windows Vista™, Microsoft enables the Windows platform to deliver on three key essentials:
Helping people to be more confident by making the operating system safer, more reliable, and more responsive
Helping people gain clarity by removing clutter and improving organization
Helping people connect with others easily and securely by improving network security and integration collaboration
Windows Vista empowers developers to create software that embodies these three essentials.
Windows Vista makes it easy to connect to information, connect to systems, and connect to customers. Using the Windows Communication Foundation Web services infrastructure, developers can create applications that communicate seamlessly across a wide range of hardware and software. Additionally, Windows Vista provides RSS support to enable developers to create experiences that aggregate information from multiple sources.
Reclaimer's Rant (or Kill All Spyware!)
I positively despise Spyware, Trojans, Adware, Malware, Grayware, Viruses, and all forms of computer parasites. Their very existence is an affront to the average/intermediate or novice computer user. They steal your personal information, degrade and even cripple vital components and software. They cost you money in terms of time... time spent struggling against them, time finding them, and time trying to destroy or delete them.
I foresee a day when their existence becomes so problematic, that some heavy hitter like Microsoft will have to step in to aid in their suppression. Can you imagine the FCC's reaction to a broadcasting version of a Browser Hijacker that suddenly changed the channel to an infomercial in the middle of a movie you were watching? With the proliferation of high-speed cable ISP connections among computer users (connections that remain active 24/7), the bugs are finding clever new ways to ride in and infest our computers. Lately I've even become paranoid of MSN and Yahoo IM's.
Which brings me to the current object of my wrath:
Win Anti Virus Pro 2006
and
Drive Cleaner 2006
These miserable, bottom feeders somehow installed a trojan in my system (I think it rode in under the guise of an Apple Quicktime Update). My fiancee was the first to use the system at 7:40 in the morning. The computer was running so badly she rebooted it. Bad move. The trojan then imbedded itself and proceeded to announce (at very frequent intervals) that my computer was infected with a Trojan SPM/LX. Well, I guess they would know, SINCE THEY PUT IT THERE! To me this is like a security company hiring thugs to break into your home and steal your electronics, in order for them to demonstrate your need for their services... or the Fire Dept setting your house on fire, to encourage you to buy tickets to the Fireman"s Ball.
I do not recommend that you patronize Win Anti Virus Pro 2006. I can't imagine what uses your computer would be put to after installing their software.
A definite 'Reclaimer 2 Thumbs Down' for these guys.
Bear in mind, I am very well equipped with firewalls, antivirus, etc, etc. Currently I am working with Webroot Spy Sweeper Tech Support to clean my system, and it looks like the coast is clear. grrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
If you are an intermediate or novice computer user, and you think your system is running poorly, or something is wrong, come to my webpage:
http://www.homeworkersunite.com/reclaimer.html
I have links to a ton of free spyware 'scan and clean' resources, free PC tune up and free registry repair resources. Everything has been used and tested by me. No tricks, no catches. Just honest help from some of the Internet's Good Guys.
Be careful out there
Reclaimer