Posts Tagged: ‘Miscellaneous’

Holiday Ranting (2022-11)

October 30, 2022 Posted by Tiny

Thoughts From a Clicker
By Tiny Ruisch

Here they come again!  This is the time of the year when the Holiday idiots show their true colors to the rest of the world.  So many people at this time of year forget to stop and think.  Others remember to stop, but forget to think.

I’m writing this article in early October, but I’ll bet I can predict the news reports we’ll get on November 1.   Some poor kid will get either razor blades or poison in their candy.  Dentist’s will buy Halloween candy by the pound.  Convenience stores will get robbed by people in their Halloween costumes.  Someone will get run over by a drunken driver.

October and November is also when tech companies make all their new product announcements.  Do you think it has anything to do with the upcoming Christmas season?  So far, this years announcements haven’t been overly exciting.  Apple is making some changes in their watches.  You don’t hear much about the gold designer watch anymore.  Microsoft seems to be continuing its strategy of renaming everything.  With the new names, comes some higher prices.  Google seems to be trying things to make money besides advertising.  More stuff for the Google Graveyard.  The only thing I can’t figure out about big tech companies is why, if they can afford to sue each other for billions of dollars, can’t they lower their prices a little.

Halloween is followed by an even scarier holiday – Thanksgiving.  If you’re wondering what I’m talking about, your spouse has never taken you out for Black Friday Shopping.  I’m a fan of good shopping deals, but not if they come at the risk of life and limb.  The Thanksgiving news stories are also the same every year.  There will be at least one customer trampled to death when the doors are opened on Friday.  Isn’t it strange that it usually happens at a Walmart?  Is it because they are the biggest retailer?  Do they have the best deals?  Could it be that their customers are less intelligent?

Thankfully, Black Friday is starting to change.  Many retailers start earlier and spread the chaos over a longer time.  Many of the deals seem to be moving on‑line instead of in‑store.  Hopefully, this will ease the dangers of this pseudo holiday.

Other news stories for the holiday season will include the celebrities that are working in the soup lines.  Is it a publicity stunt, or do they do it year round without making headlines?  My personal favorites are the ones that have to do community service for drunken driving and then get the free publicity.  Lets not forget about all of the Turkey jokes we’ll see on the internet.  For some reason, I think a lot of them this year will have Sesame Streets Big Bird in the punch line.

After we struggle through the Thanksgiving holiday, we can look forward to being bombarded with advertising for all kinds of technology to put under the Christmas tree.  It’s a shame that most of it is so overpriced.  Do you suppose that might account for the increasing crime rate that seems to occur around the end of the year?

Once again, we get to read about the celebrities feeding the downtrodden.  At Christmas time, we seem to get more politicians manning the ladles.  I can never figure out why that is.  The elections are over for the year.  The only thing I really like about this holiday is the after holiday sales.

When I was younger, I used to really worry about meeting a drunken driver on the highway.  The holidays were a reason for extra anxiety, but thanks to technology, we don’t have to worry about getting killed by a drunk.  If you get in an accident, it will most surely be due to someone sending a text on their telephone.

I suppose by now you’re getting tired of my ranting and raving about the holidays.  I’d continue on and tell you about New Years Day, but I’ll save that for next year.

Thanks for reading and keep on clicking.

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It’s The Holidays Again! (2021-11)

July 24, 2022 Posted by Tiny

Thoughts From a Clicker
By Tiny Ruisch

Here they come again!  This is the time of the year when the Holiday idiots show their true colors to the rest of the world.  So many people at this time of year forget to stop and think.  Others remember to stop, but forget to think.

I’m writing this article in October, but I’ll bet I can predict the news reports we’ll get on November 1.  Some poor kid will get either razor blades or poison in their candy.  Dentist’s will buy Halloween candy by the pound.  Convenience stores will get robbed by people in their Halloween costumes.  Someone will get run over by a drunken driver.

October and November is also when tech companies make their new product announcements.  Do you think it has anything to do with the upcoming Christmas season?  So far, this years announcements have been a lot less exciting.  Apple announced a new MacBook Pro.  I noticed that they are replacing their touch bar thingy with function keys.  There is also going to be a “notch”?  Microsoft is extending their foray into the hardware business.  They didn’t do well making Windows phones.  Do you think an Android foldable phone will succeed?  Google is increasing the pressure on both software and hardware rivals.  The new Pixel phone seems to have pretty decent specifications.  I’m looking forward to using Android 12.  The only thing I can’t figure out is why, if all the big tech companies can afford to sue each other for billions of dollars, can’t they lower their prices a little.

Halloween is followed by an even scarier holiday – Thanksgiving.  If you’re wondering what I’m talking about, your spouse has never taken you out for Black Friday Shopping.  I’m a fan of good shopping deals, but not if they come at the risk of life and limb.  The Thanksgiving news stories are also the same every year.  There will be at least one customer trampled to death when the doors are opened on Friday.  Isn’t it strange that it usually happens at a Walmart?  Is it because they are the biggest retailer?  Do they have the best deals?  Could it be that their customers are less intelligent?

Other news stories for this holiday will include the celebrities that are working in the soup lines.  Is it a publicity stunt, or do they do it year around without making headlines?  My personal favorites are the people that have to do community service for drunken driving and then get the free publicity.  Let’s not forget about all of the Turkey jokes we’ll see on the internet.  For some reason, I think a lot of them this year will have either President Biden or another unnamed past President in the punch line.

After we struggle through the Thanksgiving holiday, we can look forward to being bombarded with advertising for all kinds of technology to put under the Christmas tree.  It’s a shame that most of it is so overpriced.  Do you suppose that might account for the increasing crime rate that seems to occur around the end of the year?
Once again, we get to read about the celebrities feeding the downtrodden.  At Christmas time, we seem to get more politicians manning the ladles.  I can never figure out why that is.  The elections are over for the year.  The only thing I really like about this holiday is the after holiday sales.

When I was younger, I used to really worry about meeting a drunken driver on the highway.  The holidays were a reason for extra anxiety, but thanks to technology, we don’t have to worry about getting killed by a drunk.  If you get in an accident, it will most surely be due to someone sending a text on their telephone.

I suppose by now you’re getting tired of my ranting and raving about the holidays.  I’d continue on and tell you about New Years Day, but I’ll save that for next year.

Thanks for reading and keep on clicking.

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The Clicker Quizzler (2021-05)

July 24, 2022 Posted by Tiny

Thoughts From a Clicker
By Tiny Ruisch

For a man that is old and retired with nothing to do, I sure have a struggle finding time to do it all.  I’m fairly active in several organizations with quite a few weekly and monthly obligations.  When I’m asked to do something, I usually have a hard time saying no.

I try to write one or more articles for three different newsletters.  Luckily, most of them are easy to recycle and use on one of my personal blogs.  I’m also willing to admit that I sometimes look back on stuff I’ve written ten or fifteen years ago and update them with a new title.  I don’t consider it cheating.

So why do I try to keep so busy with workshops and writing?  I believe that it keeps my mind sharper.  They also keep me busy doing a lot of research which gives me a chance to learn new stuff.  Maybe I should apply to Jeopardy.

So, what does a person with a time shortage do?  In my case, start another feature for the monthly club newsletter.  I’m doing just that this month with the debut of the “Clicker Quizzler”, a monthly puzzle.  Each month, I plan to feature a different type.  You can look forward to solving some of the following:
• Sudoku
• Word Find
• Cryptograms
• Trivia Questions
• Anagrams
• Riddles
• Logic Puzzles
• Crossword Puzzles
And many more.  I’m hoping to get feedback from club members on what they like so that I can tailor the monthly feature for the most readers.

Put your brain to work and see if you can solve my inaugural puzzle found elsewhere in this issue.  If you need a hint, feel free to contact me.  If you ask on the Club’s Google General Discussion group, everyone can benefit.  I’m also available at the weekly Clickers Q&A or via e-mail.

Thanks for reading and keep on clicking.

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Zoom Workshops (2021-03)

July 24, 2022 Posted by Tiny

Thoughts From a Clicker
By Tiny Ruisch

Like most people, I can’t say a lot of good things about 2020.  It was a tough year.  Because many of us are getting a little older, we were stuck at home for much of the time.  There were some benefits.  People got a chance to catch up on reading or binge watching favorite television shows.  It was also nice to not have to buy a lot of gasoline for your car.

There is one one other benefit of being stuck at home.  I am surprised that more of our club members haven’t taken advantage of it.  I’m talking about the many Zoom workshops that are offered on‑line.

Every month our club offers between 20 and 30 of them.  The subjects are varied and informative.  If you have something in particular you’d like to talk about, the facilitators are almost always amendable to doing so.  Unfortunately, the attendance is usually pretty low.

I usually sign up for all the workshops that I can.  I’ve found that repeating them often discloses a little tidbit of information that I either didn’t know or forgot about.  The discussions among the attendees are also helpful.

Many times I’ve learned about programs, websites, computing techniques that I didn’t know about.  I usually keep a notes program open to write myself reminders to check new things.

If that isn’t enough content, the Association of Personal Computer User Groups (APCUG) provides even more workshops.  Some examples of recent topics are Drones, Printer Buying Tips, Windows Tips, Using CCleaner, Modems, Routers, and Wi-Fi.  These workshops and many more cost the same as our club offerings.  They are FREE for all paid club members.  Pat forwards the links to register.

So why aren’t members utilizing these free services?  I don’t know the answer, but I can speculate and offer some responses.
• Zoom is too hard to use – more than 300 million daily Zoom users might disagree.  The program is available for nearly every device and operating system.  There are thousands of tutorials to help you.
• I don’t have a web camera – you don’t need one.  At most of the meetings I’ve attended, at least half the cameras are usually off.
• I don’t want to sign up for a Zoom account – you only need an account if you’re going to host a meeting.  To attend a workshop, all you need is the logon information for the meeting.
• My computer/internet isn’t fast enough – I’m not going to list them all but I’ll just say that system requirements are pretty minimal.  They still support Windows 7.

What are you waiting for?  Why not make the best of being stuck at home for the pandemic?  Sign up now for a workshop.

Keep on clicking and thanks for reading.

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Computing Memories (2021-02)

July 20, 2022 Posted by Tiny

Thoughts From a Clicker
By Tiny Ruisch

Last week at one of my Zoom meetings, someone asked me if I had ever used IrfanView, an image viewer and editor.  I replied that it was one of my goto programs about ten years ago.  This chance remark got me to thinking about some of my computing experiences over the years.  Technology has sure changed a lot.  One of my first computer memories was when I was still in high school and UNIVAC was in the news.  No one really had any idea what the thing was good for.  The census used one to somehow make counting the population easier.  It was a different world back then and nobody really much cared about a machine that was bigger than the family car and needed a special air-conditioned room.

One thing that really interested me was the Texas Instruments pocket calculator.  My daddy was a feed salesman and the company that he worked for provided him with one of these expensive machines.  I remember him getting it out to show us how he could add 2 and 2 without making a mistake.

When I joined the Navy, I had my first experiences with using a computer.  I got to run the keypunch machine.  If I made a mistake, a ship could easily get 10,000 pounds of butter instead of 1,000.  Back then, the Navy paid us in cash.  In later years, our paychecks were actually an IBM computer punch card.  Now, most employers don’t even issue checks.  It’s all done electronically.

In the late 1970’s computers started to catch on.  IBM was the company that created the home market.  Their 8086/8088 weighed about 30 pounds and had a whole megabyte of random access memory.  It blazed along at a speedy 4.77 MHz.  Other companies that built computers soon started advertising themselves as IBM compatible.  If you worked for IBM, you were required to wear a tie.

This is also the era when many of us hobbyists started building our first computers.  Zenith Heath Kits were all the rage.  They didn’t work any better, but we were smarter because we built our own.

The operating system of choice in those days was PC-DOS.  There were many other ones, but the home market was mainly CP/M or one of the DOS systems from Apple, Atari or Commodore.  In the early 1980’s, a fellow you may have heard of bought an operating system called 86-DOS which was also known as Q-DOS (for Quick and Dirty DOS).  Bill Gates later renamed it to MS-DOS for the company that he founded.  I’m pretty sure that Microsoft is still in business today.

Home computing started to really take off in the 80’s when Radio Shack introduced the Trash 80 (oops. I meant TRS 80).  Apples home computer was the Lisa.  Texas Instruments had something called the TI-99.  I remember the first computer I bought.  It was a Commodore VIC20.  I loved that computer with its 5 KB of RAM and the data cassette storage, even though it often took 3-4 minutes to load a program.  Incidentally, the VIC20 was the first home computer that sold a million units.  In later years the Commodore 64 was even better.

The first really innovative computer program to be sold was the spreadsheet VisiCalc.  Like so many other successful things, clones like Lotus 1-2-3, SuperCalc and Microsoft Excel were soon on the market.  Did you know that Microsoft’s Excel was first introduced for the Apple Macintosh?  It was only later that it was ported to Windows.  Wordstar was the first commercially profitable word processor.

The real software revolution was the games.  I don’t think you could walk 50 feet without seeing somebody playing Space Invaders, PAC Man or one of the many variations of Pong.  I’ll confess that my favorite games were made by Infocom.  They specialized in “interactive fiction” games.  I still remember their advertising slogan, “We put our graphics where the sun don’t shine.”  Graphics adapters later put this type of adventure game out of business.  Their first game was Zork which debuted in 1980.

In the old days, the only decision to be made when you bought a monitor was whether to have green or amber output.  The only sound you could hear was the tinny beep for the operating speaker.  The only mouse in the computer room lived in the wall.  Printers were all dot matrix and printed about 30 characters a minute.

Of course, one of the biggest changes in computing has been the internet and use of e‑mail.  I’ve heard that e‑mail was invented by a Nigerian that had a lot of extra money to spend.  The browser choices were Mosaic or Netscape.  We’ve come a long way from logging in to the Bulletin Board.

I’m going to shut up for this month.  Please remember that I’ve just written about some of my computing memories, so the facts may not be 100 percent correct.  I’m just amazed at how far technology has advanced.

Thanks for reading and keep on clicking.

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Christmas Unwish List (2020-12)

July 20, 2022 Posted by Tiny

Thoughts From a Clicker
By Tiny Ruisch

Bah!  Humbug!  It’s that time of the year again.  All of the retailers are busy trying to figure out how to get our last nickel.  The little ones are all being extra good.  Instead of a simple greeting of “hello” and “good-bye”, people think they have to yell “HO! HO! HO!”  There always seems to be a song that every radio station plays over and over.  Thankfully, for the past few years, it hasn’t been about Grandma getting run over by a reindeer.  It’s also time for everyone to make their “wish” lists.

I’m going to be a little different this year.  I’m going to wish for stuff that I hope I never get.  No, I’m not using reverse psychology.  This is stuff I don’t think I’ll ever have a desire to own.

I don’t think I will ever need a USB mouse with a digital scale.  I can’t think of anything that light which I have to weigh.  The hidden safe part looks interesting though.  I wonder if it’s big enough to hide a battery.

A steering wheel laptop desk is not on my have to have list this year.  Not only can I not remember the last time I used my laptop in a vehicle, the thing barely looks big enough to hold a tablet.  I guess it might be useful for either a traveling salesman or a cop on his coffee break.

I definitely don’t need this Digital Stand for an iPad.  I can just imagine myself reaching for some paper and knocking the darn thing over.  Although the Digital Stand is only for iPads, it still wouldn’t be for me even it it fit my equipment.  If you’re in the mood for some humor, I can recommend that you click on the link and then scroll down to the “Customer Questions & Answers” section.

I’m sure glad that I am too old to ever desire owning a portable iPad Potty.  If they made them in adult sizes, it would pair perfectly with the Digital Stand.

Speaking of iPads, I don’t think I’ll ever need anything that has an “i” in front of it.  I’m just not a fan of equipment and software that doesn’t give me a chance to be stupid and see if I can break it.  I like to fine tune and tweak my stuff.

Years ago, when I lived in the North with cold, snowy winters, I purchased some screen touch gloves.  Not only did they not keep me warm, but they weren’t very reliable.  For that reason alone, I am sure I would never buy these Finger Gloves.  You can also get them in the Pro Version, which appears to cover all your fingers.

I might get awful hot during a Louisiana summer, but I don’t think I’ll need to wear these Air‑Conditioned Cooling Pants.  If I’m not going to want the pants, you can bet I don’t need Air‑Conditioned Shoes.  I suppose the next thing will be Air‑Conditioning Hats.  Maybe I could get interested if there ever is cooling underwear.

It has been around for a while now, but I don’t want Google Cardboard.  I don’t think I will need any virtual reality until it finally becomes twenty‑third century ready like the Enterprise Holodeck.  Why put something on your head that either makes you sick or look stupid like this Remote Control Headband.

There are so many things I don’t want or need this year.  I could list stuff like electronic forks, silly robots, plug in coffee cups, etc.

I just thought I’d list the one technological item I’d like to get.  If everyone in the club would chip in about about $500 or so, I could have my very own Emperor XT ultimate, luxury computer station.  I’d be willing to pay for tax and shipping.  Wait a minute!  Now that I look at the specifications again,  I couldn’t use it. Only three monitors can be included.

Thanks for reading and keep on clicking.

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Things I’m Thankful For (2020-11)

July 20, 2022 Posted by Tiny

Thoughts From a Clicker
By Tiny Ruisch

It’s that time of year again.  November is here and it is the time for us all to give thanks.  I don’t know why I should have to do this.  Every month I end this column the same.  I always write, “Thanks for reading.”  Isn’t that enough for me to be thankful for?  Luckily, I’ll be able to write a full column this month because there are a lot of other things that I’m thankful for.  Here they are in no particular order.

First, but not most, I’m thankful to belong to a computer club with a newsletter where I can publish my monthly ramblings.  One of these days, I plan to start a new section on my website and publish them.  While I’m on the subject, I’m thankful that we have a great Newsletter Editor.  Pat accepts all my input, corrects and formats it and puts together the newsletter every month.  We should all tell her thanks.

Second, but neither most nor least, I’m thankful to live in Suma Lake.  I moved here to be closer to the grandsons.  Actually, it was because the wife decided we would relocate.  I liked living in Lake Charles for many reasons.  This year, I’m extra thankful, because I avoided two deadly hurricanes.  Also, it is a lot easier to spell “Livingston Parish.  It was much harder to write “Calcasieu Parish.”

Third, but neither most nor least, I’m thankful that most of my Yankee relatives and friends haven’t moved here.  I have a lot of fun replying to their social posts.  When they complain about white stuff falling from the sky, I usually gripe about how much noise the lawn mower makes.  Sometimes they get upset with me when I innocently ask, “What’s snow?”

Fourth, but neither most nor least, I’m thankful that our club members seem to enjoy my monthly articles.  I’ve learned a lot while doing research for both newsletter pieces and my Internet SIG presentations.  Hopefully, it will help keep my mind active.  I’ll bet if I ever appeared on Jeopardy, I’d finish in third place or higher.

Fifth but neither most nor least, I’m thankful that when you read this, the election will be over.  This is the fourteenth Presidential election I’ve cast a ballot in.  This is the first one that I’m glad is completed.

Sixth, but neither most nor least, I’m thankful for all the little things that make my life easier.  I don’t know what I’d do without toilet paper, scissors, zippers, coffee, my e‑book reader, dental flossers, Duct tape, flash drives and my recliner.

Last, but not least, I’m thankful that I’m done writing my “Thoughts From a Clicker” column for another month.  Have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Thanks for reading and keep on clicking.

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Halloween Pranks (2020-10)

July 20, 2022 Posted by Tiny

Thoughts From a Clicker
By Tiny Ruisch

October has always been my favorite month of the year.  I’ve always enjoyed Halloween.  I guess it is probably because you can usually get away with a harmless prank or two.  I personally would never flip over an outhouse, unhinge a gate or let the air out of anyone’s car tires.

In this modern age, Halloween pranks almost beg to be played on someone’s computer.  Almost everyone uses a laser mouse these days.  They can be easily disabled with a small piece of clear tape on the sensor.  Most users won’t notice and will have a hard time figuring out why all of a sudden the mouse isn’t working.  You can confuse them even more by opening mouse properties in the control panel.  Changing the mouse speed to the slowest setting will make any mouse activities an ordeal.

Another prank that has been around forever can still confuse even a veteran computer user.  Simply take a screen shot of your victim’s computer.  Then hide all of the desktop icons and replace their wallpaper with the screen shot.  Sit back and watch them click on icons that won’t load a program.

Another quick prank is to open Google’s home page in a browser.  Click on preferences and change the default language.  You’d be surprised at how many people don’t know how to change it back.

Many users don’t know about sticky keys.  Sticky keys changes how the Ctrl, Alt, Shift and Windows Key function.  Keys are serialized instead of operating together.  For instance, instead of typing “Shift-a” to capitalize, you would have to type “Shift”, release the key and then type “a”.  This key change will drive unsuspecting victims crazy.  Sticky keys are enabled by pressing the “Shift” key five times in quick succession.

An evil prank that you should only play on someone that won’t beat you up is to cause their computer to shut down.  Right click on one of the icons on your victims desktop.  Type the following in the target box: %windir%\System32\shutdown.exe -s -f -t 100 -c “Your Message Here”.  Replace “Your Message Here” with whatever message you like.  I use something like “That does not compute so I am shutting down” or “I’m sleepy. I think I’ll shut down and rest now.”  Whenever your victim double clicks on that shortcut, their program will not start.  Instead, your message will display for 100 seconds (unless you change the number in the target box.)  Then the computer will shut down.

These Halloween computer pranks are all designed for the Windows operating system.  Although they are non­destructive, you run the risk of aggravating the user and making him or her possibly want to harm you.  Use them at your own risk.

It would be nice if you stick around and fix their computer for them afterword, but who am I to tell you what to do?

Thanks for reading and keep on clicking.

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Tweaks to Speed Up Your Computing (2020-09)

July 20, 2022 Posted by Tiny

Thoughts From a Clicker
By Tiny Ruisch

This month I’d like to share a few tips that I’ve learned over the years.  They’re little items that I’ve found helped make my computing faster and easier.  These tips are on random subjects.  I’ve found that all of them make my computing experience a little easier than before.  Most tips work with all Windows versions, but I don’t guarantee it.  I do know you can try them all for free.

You’ve probably heard of some of these tips and already use them all the time.  I’m willing to bet you’ll find one or two things you can use to make your computing experience easier or faster.

If your computer has more than one processor, you can make it boot a little faster.  Open System Configuration App (msconfig).  Click the boot section and then click advanced options.  Next, check the number of processors block.  In the pulldown menu, select the largest number of processors and click OK.  Now your computer will boot a little faster because it is using more processing power.

While configuration is open, you can also stop the Windows Boot Logo from slowing your startup time.  Click the BOOT tab and check the No GUI Boot.  Doing so removes the graphical moving bar.  The downside is that if your system freezes during startup, you won’t know it.

In the same tab, you will see a “Timeout:” block set to the default of 30 seconds.  When you first start your PC, a boot menu appears, giving you the option to start your computer in special modes.  Decreasing the timeout will let you boot faster.

Do you sometimes lose sight of your mouse arrow?  Some web pages snap it to somewhere else on the screen and sometimes it gets lost in the background.  My clumsy finger often cause my cursor to move when I’m using my laptop touchpad.  Open mouse properties in your control panel.  Under pointer options, check “show location of pointer when I press the CTRL key”.  Apply the settings and you will always find your cursor with a simple press of the CTRL key.

Speaking of the CTRL key, there is another key that is usually near it on most computer keyboards.  You can save a lot of time by using the window key in combination with other keys.  One of my favorite personal favorites is using Window Key-E to open Windows Explorer.  With every upgrade to Windows, the Window Key seems to get more functions than ever before.  If you do a web search for your operating system and Windows Key (or keyboard shortcuts), you will find several websites with lists of all the key functions you can use.  Although a little harder to use, Microsoft has files of Keyboard shortcuts in Windows.  There you will find complete lists for all supported operating systems and software.  It won’t be long before you will find that the Windows Key will be a force of habit.  This will make it easier for you to use your computer.

Why not take a minute, run the Services App (services.msc on older systems) and make your computer run a little faster.  This will open a window with detailed information about the services (with detailed descriptions) that are running on your computer.  You will find many that you do not need.  To disable a service, double‑click on it and change the startup type.  Remember that you can always change it back later if you find you need the service after all.  If you need more information on a particular service, type the name into your favorite internet search engine.  You’ll find out all that you need to know.  Services are important, but every one that your computer doesn’t have to check up on will help it to run a little faster.

Why not print a little faster and save some money at the same time?  Detailed prints take longer to produce.  If you reduce the quality a little, you can print faster and save some ink.  Open print properties in any program to change the settings.  Look for draft mode or something similar.

Thanks for reading and keep on clicking.

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Unsafe Computing Practices (2020-07)

July 20, 2022 Posted by Tiny

Thoughts From a Clicker
By Tiny Ruisch

Forrest Gump said, “Stupid is as stupid does.”  Could this mean that an intelligent person who does stupid things is still stupid?  Everyone has heard the stories of the computer user that used their disk player as a coffee cup holder.  Did you hear about the computer user that called tech support trying to figure out why their computer wasn’t working?  Turns out there was a power outage.  When you Google “stupid computer stories” you get about 47,100,000 results.  No matter how you look at it, we’re talking about a lot of stupidity.

I’m not planning to talk about stupid computer things, just plain dumb or unsafe computing practices.  Probably one of the dumbest things some people do is neglect antivirus and anti‑spyware programs.  Antivirus programs can be a royal pain in the you know what.  They’re always blocking some application you want to use.  You often have to disable them to install new software.  They have to be updated on a regular basis to do any good.  It seems like the subscription is always expiring and prompting you to renew it.  But you can’t afford to go without virus protection.  The malicious programs that AV software detects can not only wreak havoc on your system but can spread via your computer to the rest of your network.  Don’t be dumb.  Keep your antivirus up to date.

I think it’s really dumb to just click on anything and everything.  I know how tempting it is to quickly load that solve everything program without first reading the EULA.  Be careful.  You might be agreeing to let everyone on the internet send you spam.  Even worse, you could do like one of my sisters did ‑ agree to use your address book for a sales pitch. I know how hard it is to resist clicking that e‑mail hyperlink your best friend just sent you, just be careful.  It’s so easy to download backdoor Trojans without even knowing it.  Don’t be dumb and give in to “click mania.”  Think before you click a link.  Links can also be disguised in “phishing” messages or on Web sites to appear to take you to a different site from the ones they really point to.  You can often find out the real URL by hovering over the link without clicking it.

Don’t be dumb and install/uninstall lots of programs.  I know how tempting it is to be on the cutting edge, so you often install and try out new software.  Beta programs are usually free and give you a chance to sample neat new features before most people.  There are also many freeware and shareware programs made available as Internet downloads by their authors.  I know none of our club members would never do it, but some users even install pirated software.  The more programs you install, the more likely you are to run across ones that either include harmful code or are poorly written and cause your system to crash.  Even if you install only licensed commercial software, too many installs and uninstalls can gunk up the registry.  Not all uninstall routines completely remove program remnants and at the least, this practice can cause your system to slow down over time.  Don’t be dumb.  Install only programs that you really need.

It’s really dumb to plug your computer right into a cable or DSL modem and go on the Internet.  Some people don’t realize that they’re putting themselves at risk from viruses and attackers.  Every Internet connected computer should be protected by a firewall.  Just having a firewall isn’t enough.  You must also make sure it’s turned on and configured properly to protect you.

I think it’s really dumb to plug in any electronic equipment without using a surge protector.  Doing so can physically destroy your computer equipment, as well as the data it holds.  You might might think your system is in danger only during an electrical storm, but anything that interrupts the electrical circuit and then restarts the current can fry your electronics.  Something as simple as turning on an appliance that’s plugged into the same circuit can cause a surge.  If you have a power outage, there could be a surge when the electricity comes back on.  Don’t be dumb.  Protect your electronics against damage from power surges by always using a surge protector.

Remember that everything in this column is just my opinion.  It doesn’t really matter to me if you follow my advice.  I don’t gamble very much, but there is one thing I’m willing to bet on.  It might not happen for a while, but eventually, you’re going to get caught!

Thanks for reading and keep on clicking.

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