Thursday, July 22, 2021

Computer Class Notes 7-21-2021

Watch the video https://tinyurl.com/ynwppe3d
Read the notes https://tinyurl.com/33rh434a  


What Happens to Your Online Accounts When You Die?
We’re all going to die someday, but the same can’t be said for our online accounts. Some will persist forever, others might expire due to inactivity, and some have preparations in place for when you pass away. So, let’s have a look at what happens to your online accounts when you go offline forever.
https://tinyurl.com/uzr6b3v2

Microsoft Won’t Call You About Your Computer
“Hi, I’m from Microsoft and we’ve noticed your computer has a lot of viruses.” This is how the Microsoft tech support scam starts. By the end, the victim has probably paid hundreds of dollars and had their computer infected. This cold-calling telephone scam has been going on since 2008 but shows no sign of going away. If you have any relatives who might fall for it, be sure to let them know Microsoft won’t actually call them.
https://tinyurl.com/4nnvecy4

Your PC Won’t Support Windows 11? Maybe It’s Time to Try Linux

Did you check to see if your PC is eligible for an update to Windows 11, only to be let down? One of your few options for continued use of your laptop or desktop beyond Windows 10 is to install Linux. Here’s why that’s not a bad thing.
https://tinyurl.com/fuwbymy7

What’s New in Linux Mint 20.2
The Linux Mint operating system has long been known for its user-friendliness and stability. Uma maintains that legacy, bringing only a few changes to Mint’s update manager and the stock app collection, in addition to several improvements under the hood. Below are the highlights.
https://tinyurl.com/486mh22u

Can A Chromebook Be Your Full-Time Computer?
Chromebooks have the reputation of being “just a browser” on a laptop. After all, “Chrome” is in the name, and that was mostly how they started out. But Chromebooks have come a long way since then. They’re no longer “just a browser.”
https://tinyurl.com/v7eery9k



The Print Shop Of The 1980s
In 1984, Brøderbund Software released “The Print Shop,” a pioneering desktop publishing app that allowed anyone with a PC to easily make large banners, signs, and greeting cards at home for the first time. Here’s what made it special.
https://tinyurl.com/256euvfu

TinyURL -- this is a repeat from last week's notes

How To Get Tiny URL Shortcut in The Bookmark Bar
Click https://tinyurl.com/2yan4h42 to open the old site from the Wayback site. This gives the link to create the shortcut that no longer appears on tinyurl.com.



Follow the instructions and you will have a shortcut on your Bookmark Bar

THEN make the following correction

Right-click on the shortcut it created.

Click Edit

Click in the URL box

Ctrl+A

Backspace to clear the box

Now copy the following line into that box

javascript:void(location.href='http://tinyurl.com/create.php?url='+encodeURIComponent(location.href))

Then click Save

Photos
How can we send a series of photos by email without them being placed in a zip folder that the recipient has up zip to view them. Simply said you have to turn them into a movie file. When the recipient receives the file they just open it to view all the photos.



Open Photos


Click New Video



Click New video project



Give the project a name

Click + Add





Locate the pictures you want to use and click Open

Drag them to the storyboard



When you have moved them all, click Finish video

The resulting file can be sent as an attachment and the recipient can open it to view all the pictures.

Spoofing
https://tinyurl.com/r7rdv3t6

Suspicious Emails or Webpages regarding Amazon

To report a phishing or spoofed email or webpage:

Open a new email and attach the email you suspect is fake.

For suspicious webpages, copy & paste the link into the email body.

If you can't send the email as an attachment, forward it.

Send the email to stop-spoofing@amazon.com

Note: Sending the suspicious email as an attachment is the best way for us to track it.

Thursday, July 15, 2021

Computer Class Notes 7-14-2021

View the class https://tinyurl.com/w693dsks 

Read the notes https://tinyurl.com/2tt5pf38


A Good Video on Passwords

Thanks, Rosemary for sending this
https://tinyurl.com/49sajnuy

Got any old video games hanging around?
https://apnews.com/article/business-lifestyle-games-346aec3d0c6710062656807e77604372?utm_source=morning_brew

How to Manage and Free up Google Photos Storage Space
Google Photos doesn’t offer free unlimited storage, which means you may find yourself running out of space. Thankfully, Google has some easy-to-use tools to help you maximize the storage space you have—free or otherwise. Here’s how to identify image types and clear your Photos storage.
https://tinyurl.com/ye8vrvv2

How to Find and Delete Large Files across Google Drive, Photos, and Gmail
If you’re running out of free space on your Google account, you can easily find and delete the largest documents in your Google Drive, Gmail, or Photos accounts.
https://tinyurl.com/23dndv67

Have an Amazon device? 
Take action now or you may be sharing your internet with neighbors. If you have an Amazon device in your home like an Echo, Alexa, or Ring doorbell or floodlight camera, Amazon wants to create a shared wireless network by using your internet. If you don't take action, Amazon is about to share your internet with your neighbors. It's called Amazon Sidewalk, and the company says it's supposed to help devices work better.
https://tinyurl.com/4n52yknv

What Is Amazon Sidewalk, and Should You Disable It?
On June 8, 2021, most Amazon smart home devices—as well as certain other connected gadgets—will become part of a nationwide network called Sidewalk. Here’s what you need to know, and how to opt out if you choose to.
https://tinyurl.com/23zvyw3r

Amazon may be sharing your Internet connection with neighbors
ere’s how to turn it off. You have no control over what sort of data flows over Amazon’s new Sidewalk wireless network, which has been lying dormant in Echo smart speakers and Ring cameras ... until now
https://tinyurl.com/3mxm4ydv

How to Back Up Photos and Never Lose Them Again
Everyone with a smartphone has a camera, and they’re using ’em right and left to snap photos and shoot videos. Add in digital cameras from inexpensive to professional, and there is a lot of digital media being created every day. Much of it isn’t getting backed up. The goal? Multiple copies of your photos and videos in multiple places. If it’s in only one place, it’s not backed up.
https://tinyurl.com/fdte49bs

How to Create a Strong Password
Need to create a secure password that hackers can't guess? Use a passphrase! Make an easy to remember, yet hard to crack, password with our tips.
https://tinyurl.com/wytfsdx8

And let’s remember the Secret Word approach to passwords
https://tinyurl.com/wc259yvt

What Is a Hamburger Menu Button?
Hamburger Menu—or Hamburger Icon—is a term commonly used when talking about apps. It might make you hungry, but it has nothing to do with food. Where did this silly name come from, and what does the menu do?
https://tinyurl.com/2upwd6z

How Secure Is My Password?
The #1 Password Strength Tool. Trusted and used by millions.
https://tinyurl.com/scsaphnu

External Hard Disk for Backups
An external hard drive is nothing more than its name suggests a hard drive that exists externally of your computer. You connect it to your desktop or laptop using a USB connection. Many don’t even require an additional power connection. Just attach it, and you’ve got lots and lots of storage available. Nothing to sign up for, no accounts to create; it’s almost the literal definition of “plug and play”.
https://tinyurl.com/yn7vx4wn

WiseCleaner Checkit
Checkit helps you to check whether your current PC meets the minimum requirements, such as Processor, Memory, Storage, UEFI, TPM 2.0, etc.
You can download a copy of this portable application and quickly determine where your computer stands in the Windows 11 arena.

The download comes as a zip file. Unzip it and then open Checkit.exe.

How To Get Tiny URL Shortcut in The Bookmark Bar
Click https://tinyurl.com/2yan4h42 to open the old site from the Wayback site. This gives the link to create the shortcut that no longer appears on tinyurl.com.




Follow the instructions and you will have a shortcut on your Bookmark Bar

THEN make the following correction
  1. Right-click on the shortcut it created.
  2. Click Edit
  3. Click in the URL box
  4. Ctrl+A
  5. Backspace to clear the box
  6. Now copy the following line into that box
javascript:void(location.href='http://tinyurl.com/create.php?url='+encodeURIComponent(location.href))

Then click Save

Microsoft puts PCs in the cloud with Windows 365
Microsoft is putting Windows in the cloud. Windows 365 is a new service that will let businesses access Cloud PCs from anywhere, streaming a version of Windows 10 or Windows 11 in a web browser. While virtualization and remote access to PCs has existed for more than a decade, Microsoft is betting on Windows 365 to offer Cloud PCs to businesses just as they shift toward a mix of office and remote work.

Microsoft has inadvertently revealed one pricing option, allowing businesses to use a virtual Windows PC in the cloud for $31 per user, per month.
https://tinyurl.com/ywve2eyh

Wednesday, July 7, 2021

Computer Class Notes 7-7-2021

View the video https://tinyurl.com/yunssnr3
Read the notes https://tinyurl.com/thbb88



Want to be able to back up and synchronize your files with Microsoft OneDrive but aren’t sure where to start? Here’s a primer on getting started with OneDrive.

Microsoft OneDrive is an effective tool for automatically backing up and synchronizing your documents, photos, and other files. By backing up your files to OneDrive in the cloud, you can recover them in case you accidentally delete or lose them. And by synchronizing your files, you ensure that they’re accessible from any computer or device running OneDrive.
https://tinyurl.com/5mxu5n3b

What Backup Type Do I Want: Full, Incremental, or Differential?
Backing up your computer means making a copy of what’s on it. A full backup (often called a full image) contains a copy of everything. An incremental backup contains a copy of only those things that have changed since the previous backup. A differential backup contains a copy of only those things that changed since the most recent full backup. Unless you know otherwise, monthly full plus daily incremental backups is a good place to start.
https://tinyurl.com/j6ybsn4

Google Sites
Building a new website seems like an impossibly hard task, something that'd take a few hours at best and a few weeks or months at worst. You'd never make a new website just to share a couple of reports or write about a project you're working on. You could, however. With the newly redesigned Google Sites—one of Google's best yet least known apps—you can build a full website for free in minutes. It's one of the best-hidden features in your new G Suite account, and a simple way to build a modern intranet for your company.
https://tinyurl.com/4sfjk4px
Direct access at https://sites.google.com/new

To Download YouTube Videos With VLC
I learned a new way to download YouTube videos by just using VLC. Decided to try it. Here are my end results. This requires VLC media player from: https://www.videolan.org/vlc/ So first go to YouTube to get your video link.
https://tinyurl.com/7e7hvhdu

What is a PNG file?
A PNG file is an image saved in the Portable Network Graphic (PNG) format. It contains a bitmap compressed with lossless compression similar to a .GIF file. PNG files are commonly used to store web graphics, digital photographs, and images with transparent backgrounds.
https://tinyurl.com/6ry4t9tn

Save Images Directly To Google Photos
When anyone receives a Gmail message, includes attachments will appear in a row below the body of the message. Users would then see a download or “Add to Drive” option when hovering on these items, which is quite handy. Google has now added a “Save To Photos” button, which allows the photo attachment to be directly saved to Google Photos.
https://tinyurl.com/298c44rf

Secure File Deleter
We store a lot of personal information on our computers; if you don't organize your files, you may be surprised at what you can find on your system. The importance of data will of course vary based on its content, e.g. financial statements, medical records, contracts or receipts.
https://tinyurl.com/3u2cx2d4

How to Get Wi-Fi on the Road
Staying connected when traveling can be tricky if you’re not in a hotel, but it’s possible. Whether you’re on a cross-country road trip or going camping, or even if you just need some Wi-Fi on a long drive, there are ways to stay connected while you’re on the road.
https://tinyurl.com/y5k5tr63

Don’t Click Those Pop-Ups That Say You’ve Been Infected!
Don’t Be Scared Right Into A Scam. There’s probably nothing more underhanded than for someone to trick or fool you by pretending they want to help, or for someone to masquerade as a good guy, when in fact they’re out to do you harm.
https://tinyurl.com/pbfrn8s2

Download Problems? 9 Ways to Troubleshoot and Fix Them
Most issues that you will encounter while trying to download a file have simple solutions. Whether you’re using a computer, a smartphone, or a games console, here are nine things to try the next time you have an issue.
https://tinyurl.com/ypu24d4c

The Secret Life Of Your Data: What You Need To Know
  • Alexa: By default, Amazon keeps a copy of everything Echo smart speakers record.
  • Browser extensions: Add-ons and plug-ins can see and share everything you do on the Web.
  • Cars: Automakers use hundreds of sensors and an always-on Internet connection to record where you go and how you drive.
  • Credit cards: A half-dozen kinds of companies can grab data about purchases, from your bank to the store where you’re shopping.
  • Don’t sell my data: The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) can help even residents of other states see and delete their data — and tell companies to stop selling it.
  • iPhones and Android phones: Hidden trackers in apps share personal information — even while you and your phone are asleep.
  • TVs: Once every few minutes, smart TVs beam out a snapshot of what’s on your screen.
  • Web browsers: Google’s Chrome loaded more than 11,000 tracker cookies into our browser — in a single week.
Texting in Windows 10



Craig brought up a new feature in Windows 10 that connects 10 to your smartphone and allows you to view, reply, and compose text messages on your computer.





Open Settings > Phone > Add a phone

Thursday, July 1, 2021

Computer Class Notes 6-30-2021

View the video https://tinyurl.com/vw32fnzs
Read the Notes https://tinyurl.com/9mek4v88


Add Caption to Picture
Another approach. Create it in Word, LibreOffice Writer, or even in Wordpad. Then while viewing the document Shift+Ctrl+S and draw a box around what you want as a picture. It is then in your clipboard ready to paste it to Facebook or an email...

Validate Email Address
Enter an email address below to check in real-time if it's real, using our free online email validator. We'll let you know if it's properly formatted and verify that its mailbox exists and is able to receive mail. We'll get you a detailed response without ever sending an email!
https://tinyurl.com/yzj7z6sx

Thank Harold B for this info from a European Newspaper's Website:

It looks Like These Functions Will Be Canceled In Windows 11
A long list of functions of Windows 10 has fallen victim to the red pencil and will be missing in Windows 11. On the one hand, these are features that are unpopular with users anyway, such as the tiles in the start menu, which probably no one will miss.

Internet Explorer is long gone
Internet Explorer has lived on as a second browser in many Windows 10 installations. With Windows 11, it is finally history: Internet Explorer is no longer preinstalled, for compatibility reasons, there is instead an "IE Mode" for the successor Microsoft Edge

Cortana is silent now
No one who has ever had to set up a Windows 10 PC will miss this: Microsoft has banned its voice assistant Cortana from the installation process and also deleted the Cortana button on the taskbar. The language assistant only exists as an app that you have to install separately.

No more tablet mode
With the tiles in the Start menu, the screen-filling version in tablet mode also says goodbye. Because, according to Microsoft, the entire Windows 11 operating system was designed with a focus on touch and pen operation, the special mode for 360-degree notebooks and tablets with docking keyboards is now obsolete. However, there will continue to be adjustments for such devices, predicts "PC World".

No notifications on the lock screen
If you like, Windows 10 can display information about newly-arriving emails, calendar entries, or other notifications on the lock screen. This is also the end of Windows 11: Windows connoisseurs assume that the new widgets will replace this feature.

Start menu size now fixed.
The size of the Windows 10 Start menu could still be changed: If you removed the tiles and reduced them in size, you had a user experience comparable to Windows 7. This is over with Windows 11, the Start menu now has a non-changeable size.

If you don't like the new Start menu, however, third-party tools - as in Windows 8 times - should have the opportunity to adapt Windows 11 to your needs.

Timeline was deleted
Only about two years ago, the timeline function of Windows 10 fell victim to the red pencil again in the successor. Microsoft is moving individual functions to other applications: For example, tabs used on another device in the Edge browser can now be opened directly in Edge itself, instead of doing so via the Timeline function.

The taskbar can only be used at the bottom
If you like to place your Windows taskbar on the left, right or top of the screen, you have a problem: In Windows 11 - at least in the leaked version - it is fixed to the lower edge of the screen, an alternative placement is not provided. At least: the new, centered layout can be changed and the start button can be placed on the left again.

Paint 3D, Skype, and OneNote are gone
From the pre-release version that has already been leaked, a few other small changes are known: For example with the Snipping Tool, which helps to take screenshots. This will be deleted, instead, a successor tool called "Snip & Sketch" will be available, which should be able to do more than its predecessor.

Home version with a compulsory online account 
In addition to the Snipping Tool, some other tools that are still pre-installed in Windows 10 will be deleted, specifically: the 3D viewer, OneNote for Windows 10, Paint 3D, and Skype. The latter is likely to be replaced by the pre-installed Microsoft Teams. Paint 3D and the 3D viewer, including the "3D Objects" folder in the file manager that is empty for most users, will probably be missed by a few Windows users anyway.

Hidden Chrome Features
If search engines are our window to the internet, a web browser is the window frame. A good browser should support basic search functions, but the most popular choices act as their own operating system for accessing the web. However, no option has become more ubiquitous with online living than Google's Chrome browser, which has about 65% of the market.
https://tinyurl.com/3fjatz6v

How To Download All Photos From Google
If you have uploaded photos to your Google account in the past, you may wonder how to download all photos from Google at a later point in time. Google users may upload photos, videos, and other media to Google using desktop and mobile applications. The system is very convenient, especially on mobile devices running Android, as it can be automated so that all media that is captured on a device is uploaded to the cloud.
https://tinyurl.com/39fabb9c

Facebook Too



BTW you can do a similar thing on Facebook and download not only all your photos but everything else.

Click view and then check off what you want to backup to your computer and Facebook will send it to you in a zip file.

Try Out ‘Super Mario World’
Few classic video games brought more delight to gamers than Super Mario World. Playing it today is still fun, but the black bars that fill the void on modern flatscreens kinda suck; thankfully someone created an expanded widescreen version that looks great!
https://tinyurl.com/j9da75yw

A Visual History of Windows Icons
Over the past three-plus decades, the icons of Microsoft Windows have evolved alongside improvements in screen resolutions and color depth. Here’s a look at how the size and style of Windows icons have changed over time.
https://tinyurl.com/5csvxhre

Spell Check For WordPad
TinySpell is a small utility that allows you to easily and quickly check and correct the spelling in any Windows application. TinySpell can watch your typing on the fly and alert you whenever it detects a misspelled word. It can also check the spelling of text that you copy to the clipboard. TinySpell installs itself in the system tray for easy access. It comes in both installable and portable versions.
https://tinyurl.com/tinyspell

Turn Word Documents into Google Docs Format
In Google Drive, there’s an option to convert all uploaded files to the Google Docs editor format. This converts your Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files to Google’s Docs, Sheets, and Slides formats, respectively. OpenOffice formats are also supported, but Apple’s iWork formats are not.
https://tinyurl.com/edhs9rdz

Free Ransomware Decryption Tools
Our free ransomware decryption tools can help decrypt files encrypted by the following forms of ransomware. Just click a name to see the signs of infection and get our free fix.
https://tinyurl.com/ssnsuuwc

Just What Is a Hack?
In the past, hackers hacked mostly for bragging rights and bravado. That has since morphed into two common directions. The first is to target attacks at specific individuals for some purpose — usually revenge for perceived injustices. More common of late is, of course, money. Hacking computers to place ransomware might be the most obvious example of the latter.
https://tinyurl.com/reyr5bfy

Why Your System is Slow
I get a lot of pushback from people who are absolutely convinced the System Idle Process is somehow evil and must be eradicated simply because their computer is slow and “System Idle Process” is at the top of the CPU usage list. They are wrong.
https://tinyurl.com/eefbhn8r