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February 2, 2004 |
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About Town Dave Uphoff |
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Technical tips for the internet
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This week I would like to pass on some tips on using the Internet. Some of these tips are in response
to complaints that I have heard from many computer users. One of the more common complaints is the
popup windows that come out of nowhere while you are navigating the Internet. Most of these popups are a
nuisance since they all want to sell you something. The search engine Google offers a free download of
a popup blocker. I have installed it on my computer and it has blocked over 130 popups in 3 weeks. To
obtain the popup blocker from Google, go to http://toolbar.google.com/
and follow the instructions for downloading. It is easy to install and also puts a permanent search textbox
in the toolbar of your browser, which is convient.
Last week another virus was spreading throughout the internet and causing loss of computer data for those unfortunate enough to receive the virus. Viruses are spread through your email connections. Anytime you receive an email, check to see if there are any attachments. Viruses are spread by clicking on an attachment to your email. I never open an attachment to an email if the attached file has a file extension of .exe, .dll, or .bat. These file extensions means that these are program files and will start executing once you click on them. For example, if you see an attachment with a file name of myfile.exe, do not click on it or open it unless you are expecting if from someone you know. There are anti-virus programs available that you can install on your computer to check for viruses. However, a new virus is usually not detected by these anti-virus programs until after they have done their damage. I have not had much faith in anti-virus programs because they usually won't catch the latest virus, only the known ones that have been around for awhile. In addition, anti-virus programs can sometimes flag a harmless but necessary file on your computer as being a virus file. This happened to me a few weeks ago when my Norton anti-virus program flagged the program file DLLHOST.EXE as being a virus and then asked me to delete it, which I did. Unfortunately, it was a valid Windows file and it caused all kinds of operating problems in my system until I finally figured out what was going on. I ran the "sfc /scannow" command on my DOS command prompt so that it could be restored to my computer. I deleted my Norton anti-virus program from my system. Now I just make sure that I don't open up any email file attachments having a file extension of .exe, .dll, or .bat. |
Many viewers ask me if they can download any of the pictures on this website. The answer is yes. If you
see a picture that you would like to download, just put the cursor over the picture and click the right button
on your mouse. This will display a menu. Select the Save as option on the menu. It will then ask you
where you want to save the picture file. Just click on a directory in which to save the file and then click the
Save button. This same menu will also allow you to print the picture.
Some viewers complain that the latest editorial or latest email page does not display. When this happens, merely click on the Refresh button at the top of the browser. It is the button with 2 green arrows forming a circle. This will load in the latest version of the page. Sometimes the browser will load a cached version of the page. The cached version is one that is stored on your computer rather than the one that is stored on the MinonkTalk server computer. The cached version is sometimes loaded by the browser to save download time rather than retreiving the page from the server. Internet pages are becoming more sophisticated and complex which means it requires more time to download the pages. For those of you who still use a telephone connection, I advise you to consider signing up for a high speed connection in order to make your internet experience more enjoyable and less time consuming. Maxiis Internet in Toluca provides a wireless connection to the internet for Minonk area users for around $30 a month. It is about 5 times faster than a 56K telephone connection. Mediacom, the local cable company, provides a high speed internet connection through its cable for around $45 a month and is about 10 times faster than a telephone connection. Another nice feature about high speed internet is that it doesn't tie up your phone line. That's our lesson for this week. Next week we will discuss the implications of the theory of relativity. |
