Terry's Computer Tips - Newsletter
February 19, 2006

Terry's Computer Tips Newsletter
http://www.terryscomputertips.com
A computer tips newsletter for users of PC's.

Volume 1, Number 36 — Sunday, February 19, 2006

Part 1  Part 2  Part 3

IN THIS WEEK'S E-MAIL ISSUE:
   0.   JUST FOR SUBSCRIBERS — EMAIL ONLY
   0.1   Welcome To New Subscribers!
   0.2   I Hope You Did Your Windows Updates
   0.3   Internet Conference Calls
   0.4   Still More Gmail Accounts Available
   0.5   My Computer Security Software Recommendations
   0.6   Recommend my Terry's Computer Tips Newsletter to Your Friends
   0.7   Can I Put My Subscription on Hold?
   0.8   Changing Your Subscription Address
   0.9   Send me some email!
   0.10   Links to products and services mentioned above

IN THIS WEEK'S ON-LINE ISSUE:
   1.   Is Your Computer Too Hot?
   2.   Updates Last Week
   3.   More New Web Pages at www.TerrysComputerTips.com
   4.   Comments from Readers
   5.   Another Look at Screen Printing
   6.   My Computer Security Software Recommendations
   7.   Microsoft Anti-Spyware SNAFU
   8.   Firefox (and other programs) on Drive C:
   9.   Recommend my Terry's Computer Tips Newsletter to Your Friends
   10.   Windows Defender, formerly known as Microsoft Anti-Spyware, Beta 2

Welcome to the on-line version of my Terry's Computer Tips newsletter.

My free, emailed newsletter includes a special "Just for Subscribers" article, an announcement that the new issue of Terry's Computer Tips has been published on-line, and the table of contents for the issue.

The emailed newsletter is sent weekly to individuals who have subscribed to the newsletter, have received an email confirmation notice that required them to confirm their subscription request, and who confirmed their request.

Click here to subscribe. It's free!

Joel Comm's Google AdSense Secrets Ebook Has Been Read By More People Than Any Other Ebook On The Topic. That's Thousands Of People Who Have Experienced A DRAMATIC INCREASE In Their AdSense Income! Now you can capture more of Joel's insightful teachings in a Limited Edition Two-Hour Course titled Uncovering the Secrets of Google AdSense. This special seminar kit features Joel Comm (Dr. AdSense) as he is grilled by Internet Marketing Expert, Rick Butts (of Blog and Ping fame!) Including TWO CD-Roms with 2 hours of incredible content and a binder featuring a COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT of the course, this set is a MUST-HAVE for any serious AdSense student seeking to increase their income! This is an excellent book and audio set, whether you are just getting started with Adsense pay-per-click ads on your web site or whether you've had them for a while and want to optimize the ads — and your site — for more income. The Adsense Secrets eBook and the Audio/Transcript set are separate products. Terry

1.  Is Your Computer Too Hot?

One of the questions I answered this week was about computer overheating. In this case, the individual wanted to know the "right" temperature for his processor -- but he didn't mention which processor he was using or its speed.

His underlying problem was that his computer would spontaneously turn off occasionally. This is usually an indication that the motherboard has shut down automatically to prevent overheating and damage to the CPU.

Many computers allow you to monitor the temperature of the processor, the power supply and perhaps other points, too. You may have to run a special program for your motherboard or computer to be able to see these.

The average temperature for the CPU depends on which processor you're using. Each manufacturer has difference specifications. For that matter, each of their processor models and speeds has different specs.

Check the manufacturer's site for specifications on your specific processor -- it will tell you the acceptable operating temperatures. I would want to be in the low half of the range.

If you suspect temperature, get a can of compressed air. Open your case and blow the dust out the heat sink and the power supply.

I've had some severe issues with shutdowns that tracked back to heatsinks that were filled with dust -- so there was no cooling air flow.

If you don't have a dust problem or if the program shows normal temps for the CPU, check your cooling fans. You should have an equal number of fans blowing in and blowing out.

One frequent problem is having two that blow in _or_ two blowing out -- neither of which options provide good air circulation in the PC. Dont' forget to count the power supply fan in that equation -- some of those blow in, most blow out.

2.  Updates Last Week

Microsoft (operating systems, email, web browser, office suites):  Last week included "Patch Tuesday," so we have new Windows and Office updates.

• Security Update for Windows XP (KB913446)
  Download size: 786 KB , less than 1 minute
  A security issue has been identified in Windows-based systems that could allow an attacker to cause the affected machine to stop responding to requests. You can help protect your computer by installing this update from Microsoft. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.
• Security Update for Windows Media Player 10 for Windows XP (KB911565)
  Download size: 2.4 MB , less than 1 minute
  A security issue has been identified that could allow an attacker to remotely compromise your Windows-based system using Windows Media Player and gain control over it. You can help protect your computer by installing this update from Microsoft. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.
• Security Update for Windows XP (KB911927)
  Typical download size: 181 KB , less than 1 minute
  A security issue has been identified that could allow an attacker to remotely compromise your Windows-based system and gain control over it. You can help protect your computer by installing this update from Microsoft. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.
• Security Update for Windows Media Player Plug-in (KB911564)
  Download size: 597 KB , less than 1 minute
  A security issue has been identified that could allow an attacker to remotely compromise your Windows-based system using the Windows Media Player Plug-in and gain control over it. You can help protect your computer by installing this update from Microsoft. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.
• Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool - February 2006 (KB890830)
  Download size: 1.9 MB , less than 1 minute
  After the download, this tool runs once to check your computer for infection by specific, prevalent malicious software (including Blaster, Sasser, and Mydoom) and helps to remove any infection found. If an infection is found, the tool will display a status report the next time you start your computer. A new version of the tool will be offered every month. If you want to manually run the tool on your computer, you can download a copy from the Microsoft Download Center or run an online version from microsoft.com. This tool is not a replacement for an anti-virus product. To help protect your computer, you should use an anti-virus product. Details... Don't show this update again
• Microsoft Office 2003 -- Update for Outlook 2003 Junk Email Filter (KB911961)
  Download size: 3.2 MB , less than 1 minute
  This update provides the Junk E-mail Filter in Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 with a more current definition of which e-mail messages should be considered junk e-mail. This update was released in February 2006.

The next regularly scheduled Windows Updates are scheduled for Tuesday, March 14, 2006.

Firefox (web browser, www.mozilla.org, free):  Current version 1.5.0.1. No updates this week (v1.5.0.1 was released on February 3).

Opera (web browser, www.opera.com, free):  Version 8.52 released on February 17th. Per the Opera site, "This release is a recommended security upgrade." It also fixed some other small issues.

Netscape (web browser, www.netscape.com, free):  Current version 8.1.

SeaMonkey (web browser, email, HTML editor, newsreader; www.mozilla.org; free):   Current version 1.0, released January 30.

Eudora (email, www.eudora.com, options: paid, sponsored or free/lite):  No updates this week. Current version 7.0.1.0.

Mozilla Thunderbird (email, www.mozilla.org, free): Current version 1.5.

OpenOffice (office suite — spreadsheet, word processor, presentations, graphics, web design; www.openoffice.org; free):  No updates this week. Current version 2.01.

Microsoft Defender (anti-spyware, www.microsoft.com, free):   Current version — Beta 2 — see article 10 in this issue. "The Product Formerly Known as Microsoft Anti-Spyware."

3.  More New Web Pages at www.TerrysComputerTips.com

Subscribers to my Terry's Computer Tips email newsletter saw these new web pages earlier in the week. On Wednesday they received a Special Edition which included a new article and the listing of new "unlisted" web pages &mdash new web pages that I had not added to the website's front page or the computer tips index yet.

I still have a lot more newsletter articles to convert into web pages. As I wrote earlier, Google has indexing issues with newsletters, so I'm converting articles from older issues into individual web pages..

I'm not sure whether they index and then de-index them based on age, or whether they just have trouble because of the varying content on a page. I think it is more likely the age issue, as I can find some issues but later can not find the same issues in a Google search of my site.

My latest new pages are the following:

• Has Joe Read The Email I Sent Him? - Part 2
• Yellow Errors - Hardware Not Recognized by Windows
• Turn on Email Links in Outlook 2003 after Office 2003 Service Pack 2
• Upgrading Windows XP Home to Windows XP Professional
• Data Recovery - You Hope You Never Need It
• Games, CDROMs & CD Emulation Softwar
• Breaking the "Microsoft Only" Mindset
• Screen-Printing From Your Computer Screen
• Primary Partitions, Extended Partitions and Logical Partitions, part 2
• Help! Windows Wakes Up But My Windows Desktop is Locked
• Using a UPS for Non-Computer Power

Subscribe to my email Terry's Computer Tips newsletter to get the latest information, be the first to see new web pages, and get Special Editions, too.

New DVD Club

Movie MegaPacks on DVDs

Best-selling author Joel Comm packs tons of material into this 130+ page ebook which show budding Internet entrepreneurs how to get their sites up and running in no time flat!

Part 1  Part 2  Part 3

Volume 1, Number 36 — Sunday, February 19, 2006
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Copyright © 2006 Terry A. Stockdale.  All rights reserved.