-
Hand-written envelopes? Not any more!
Even accompanied by a steaming glass of mulled wine, there’s one Christmas job I find tedious – addressing Christmas card envelopes. My answer? Use Microsoft Word to automatically create address labels. Here’s how. Start by creating a list of all your names and addresses. Create a new Word document and insert a table with columns…
-
If you suspect deceit, hit delete!
Recently, someone in Jakarta changed the details of my Paypal account. Adaline Alexander from Alabama purchased three songs on my iTunes account. And in a moment of madness, I bought an $800 Dell laptop for Loretta Lestrange from New York. Of course, none of these things actually happened. But someone wanted me to believe that…
-
Is that a fact?
In 2009, when my Dad forwarded this chain email to me I replied, “Thanks for the heads up, but actually, this is a hoax … see this article on Snopes. It’s always worth checking on Snopes – a site which exists to debunk urban myths and other such things – before forwarding them on.” But…
-
An art gallery on your desktop
A picture can inspire, can calm or can amuse. And if you spend many hours in front of your computer, what better showcase for the pictures you love than your desktop? Fortunately, Windows makes it really easy to create your own exhibition. Here’s how! The first thing to do is create a folder for your…
-
Safer downloading!
In my article on spring cleaning your computer I wanted to recommend tools which, while great in themselves, needed to be downloaded from freeware sites. The trouble is, these sites offer traps for the unwary. These safer downloading tips will help you use these sites with less risk. Trap 1: misleading search results Search for…
-
Creeper: the first virus
1971 saw the first computer virus—Creeper. It harmlessly copied itself and displayed the message “I’m the Creeper, catch me if you can!” Reaper swiftly followed. Its sole aim was to find and delete Creeper and was effectively the world’s first anti-virus. In the decade that followed, the few viruses created were simply experiments to push…
