Page 18

As stated on the preceeding page, I just got through a teaching/learning experience by giving a course on computer basics to a group of students here on Manitoulin through Cambrian College.
I have to admit that it was my first time at the front of a classroom other than years and years ago when Christian Brothers called me up to the front of the class for a demonstration of corporal punishment. It was rather refreshing not having to bend over and have a goaltenders hockey stick applied to my bottomside.

On Screen Keyboard: Here's something I just learned myself. There is a feature that is included with Windows XP that I bet most of you have never noticed or used, the On-Screen Keyboard. To get to it, click your Start Button, click on Run, type in osk then hit OK. Open notepad and start typing...

Two Schools Of Thought: It's all very confusing and you don't know who to believe. Microsoft says one thing and their bottom line is making money and touting their stuff to be the best. MVP's, people that have a vested interest in computers in general, say what they feel is right. Third party softwaare companies say something else. So who do you believe - I guess whatever works for you! So what the heck am I talking about, you ask? Registry Cleaners, of course. The one school of thought is that modern operating systems, unlike Win98, take care of the registry itself and there is no need to bother with cleaning the registry. And the other school of thought says the opposite. I have been very diligent in keeping my registry pruned of registry entries that are unneeded. I use Registry Mechanic and, of course, run Erunt first to ensure I can restore if needed. So now I read in a highly known forum that I'm wasting my time. In fact, it suggests I'm doing more harm than good. I suppose Windows is an inexact science just like medicine where one day the doctors recommend circumcision and the next day they say don't do it. New mothers never know what way to go. Men get caught up in what decision their mothers decided on and women - well, they get stuck with whatever they settle on. Bottom Line: If you don't use a registry cleaner there will be a buildup under the foreskin of your 'puter and it's up to you whether you rinse it off or not.

New Version Of AVG Anti-Virus: Users of Grisoft's free AVG anti-virus will be happy to see that a new version is now available. The user interface is a lot slicker and easier to navigate. The download is available here. Instructions: 1. run the download (46 megs - yup, it is a lot bigger but see below why) 2. get off the internet 3. uninstall the old version (a tick enables you to maintain user settings) 4. install the new version 5. get back on the internet and when the install finishes run an update and full scan. 6. Good practice would then have you do a reboot so all your settings properly insert within the registry. But Note That: 1. Be sure to untick the toolbar during the install (I hate toolbars) 2. If you run AVG Antispyware you will need to uninstall it prior to this install as the new version of AVG includes a malware scan making your old antispyware app redundant. This explains why the download file grew from 25 to 46 megs. Though not as well-known as some competitors, this antivirus program offers rock-solid protection. AVG Free provides the bare necessities, including a real-time shield to prevent infections, antivirus and antimalware wrapped up in one engine, and a link scanner for Web surfing with care. By default, the application is set to search for new virus definitions daily, but you can always use the scheduling tool to change this. Should a virus create serious system problems, AVG creates a rescue disk to scan your computer in MS-DOS mode. The program doesn't tax your system when scanning or when running in the background, and it always proved effective in our tests. The new interface is much easier to navigate than in previous version, with tabbed navigation on the left assisting users in drilling down to the tools they need. Though the free version of this program will suffice for average folks, those who demand more control should certainly consider AVG Anti-Virus Professional. Some features, such as e-mail scanning, will work during your first 30 days using AVG Free but get disabled unless you upgrade. Above Review by Download.com Caveat: The downside is the e-mail scanning feature mentionned above - it appears Grisoft is getting tough on freebie users trying to get them to upgrade to the Pro Version. That's Too Bad: I suppose I now have 30 days to consider moving on to another anti-virus app as e-mail scanning is a too important feature to lose!

Top of Page