74. Understand the Download options on software

Know the Terms: Freeware, Trialware, & More
Have you ever downloaded a program that you thought was free and then, after using it for a while, saw a warning or some other message appear, prompting for payment to continue?

Assuming you weren't tricked into the download (see the next section for help avoiding that problem), you either downloaded the wrong version, especially if a number of different download options were available, or were mistaken about the cost of the program.

Almost all software developers use these three categories to classify their software:

Freeware: This means that the program is completely free to use as described.

Trialware: This means that the program is free to use for a certain period or time, or for a certain number of uses, and then will need to be paid for. This is also sometimes called shareware or just trial software.

Commercial: This means that the program is not free at all and must be paid for before you can use it. Even most commercial programs these days provide limited time trial versions before asking for payment, so I see this designation less often.

Be weary of a program that just says it's "free" as there are plenty of ways to spin that. I talk a lot more about this next.

Free Downloads ≠ Free Software Just because something is a Free Download does not mean that the software is free.

Unfortunately, some software makers intentionally confuse visitors with this trick on their download pages. They use "free download" in all the page titles, all over the software description pages, and then you usually end up clicking a big FREE DOWNLOAD button to start the download.

Of course the download process is free! The software, however, requires payment for use, sometimes right away but often after a short period of use.

Some software makers do this in the hopes of driving revenue from people who thought they were downloading and using free software and then see little choice but to pay up. It's unethical and a rampant problem among lower quality software programs.

So, before you download something that's labeled as "free" or as a "free download," check to see that the program description clearly states that it's freeware or completely free to use.

Don't be Tricked by "Download" Advertisements Some of the most "successful" advertisements are those that trick a page's reader in to believing that the ad isn't really an ad, but something useful on that site.

These sorts of advertisements run frequently on software download pages, appearing as giant DOWNLOAD buttons. As much as these large buttons might appear to be what you need to click to download the software you're after, trust me, they're not.

Worse yet, these DOWNLOAD advertisements don't go to benign websites - they usually go to a malware-ridden page where you really do get to download something, just not the something you thought you were getting.

Real download buttons tend to be smaller and located closer to the downloadable file's name, version number, and last updated date. Not all software download pages have download buttons, either - many are just links.

Another "what to click" problem is a bit harder to solve, but worth the try:

Avoid "Installers" and "Download Managers"

Full-time software download sites, like Download.com and Softpedia, typically host software makers' programs for free.

One way these download sites make their money is by serving advertisements on their sites. Another, increasingly more common, way they make money is by wrapping the downloads they serve inside of a program called an installer, or less often inside a download manager.

These programs, often referred to as PUPs (potentially unwanted programs), have nothing to do with the program you're trying to download and install. The download site earns money from the makers of those programs by including them with the one you were after.

I do my best to avoid linking to sites that use installers and download managers but sometimes it's impossible, simply because the software I'm recommending isn't available elsewhere.

Assuming you can't find a non-installer download link for the software you want, you can always install the package anyway, being extremely careful what you agree to during the installation process:

Choose "Custom Installation" & Decline Additional Software Last, but certainly not least, please slow down and read the screens you're presented with as you install the software you just downloaded.

I'm not talking about the terms and conditions or the privacy policy. Don't get me wrong, you should read those too, but that's another discussion.

What's important here are the screens that are part of the installation wizard: the screens with the check boxes, "next" buttons, and all the stuff you agree or disagree to allow to be installed or tracked.

Unless you enjoy random browser toolbars, your home page being changed automatically, subscriptions to free software that you'll never use, and stuff like that, then I highly recommend that you carefully read every screen in the install wizard and decline anything that you're not interested in.

The biggest tip I have here is to choose the Custom Installation method, if you're given the option. This makes the install process a bit longer with the few extra screens it adds, but it's almost always where the "don't install this" options are hidden.

One way to avoid all of these installation-based problems is to choose portable software instead of installable software, when available. Many software makers create versions of their programs that run without needing to be installed at all.

Reproduced from a Tim Fisher article on About.com

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73. Word: Start a New Line without Starting a New Paragraph

When you’re typing into a Microsoft Word document and you press the Enter key, Word starts a new paragraph. In old versions (Word 2003 and 2002), it looks indistinguishable from a new line: the new paragraph appears immediately below the last one. In Word 2013, 2010 and 2007, however, some extra space is added between the two paragraphs. This can be altered of course by changing the format of your paragraphs but if you like the extra spaces, read on:

You might like the approach taken by these newer versions – it does make a document look a little neater – but it has a drawback. If you’re trying to type an address over several lines, you’d prefer it to look like a single block without gaps between each line. The same might apply if you’re typing list of items – you don’t really regard each item in the list as a separate paragraph, so you don’t want them all separated by white space.

What can you do about it? Well, the solution depends on whether or not you’ve already typed the text in question:

* If you’re just about to type the text – the address or the list – don’t press Enter at the end of each line. Instead, press Shift+Enter. That will give you a new line, but without starting a new paragraph, so you don’t get that enormous space between the lines.

* If you’ve already typed the text in question, begin by highlighting the entire address or list. Next, make sure the Home tab is selected on the Ribbon and move your mouse up to the ‘Styles’ section where you’ll see a wide white box containing items such as ‘Normal’, ‘No Spacing’ and ‘Heading 1’. In this box, click on No Spacing. This removes the extra space that was added between all those lines.

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72. How to "Zoom In" on a webpage

When you’re visiting a web page, it can sometimes be useful to zoom in and make everything on the page larger and easier to read. In Internet Explorer you should have a little ‘zoom’ button in the bottom-right corner of the window that makes this easy – each click on the button zooms the page to 125%, then 150%, then back to 100% (normal size) again. For more options, click the tiny arrow beside that button and choose a zoom setting ranging from 50% to 400%.

But what if you can’t see that zoom button? Here’s the solution:

1. Press the Alt key on your keyboard (to the left of the space bar) to make Internet Explorer’s menu bar appear.

2. Open the View menu and move the mouse down to Toolbars.

3. On the sub-menu that appears, click Status bar.

The status bar appears at the bottom of the window, with this zoom button at its right-hand end. (If you want to hide the status bar again, just repeat the same steps)

You don’t necessarily need this status bar in order to zoom in and out of the web page, there are other ways:

• Hold down the Ctrl key on your keyboard and roll your mouse’s wheel away from you to make everything larger, or towards you to make it smaller.
• Hold down the Ctrl key and repeatedly tap the + key on the top row of your keyboard to make everything bigger, or the – key to reduce it.
• Click the cog icon in the top-right corner of the window, move the mouse to Zoom and click a zoom setting.

Happy viewing

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71. Keyboard shortcuts we should all learn.

Using keyboard shortcuts can greatly increase your productivity, reduce repetitive strain, and help keep you focused. For example, highlighting text with the keyboard and pressing Ctrl + C is much faster than taking your hand from the keyboard, highlighting the text using the mouse, clicking copy from the file menu, and then putting your hand back in place on the keyboard. Below are our top 10 keyboard shortcuts we recommend everyone memorize and use.



Ctrl + C or Ctrl + Insert
 
Both Ctrl + C and Ctrl + Insert will copy the highlighted text or selected item.



Ctrl + V or Shift + Insert
 
Both the Ctrl + V and Shift + Insert will paste the text or object that's in the clipboard.



Ctrl + Z and Ctrl + Y
 
Undo any change. For example, if you cut text, pressing this will undo it. This can also often be pressed multiple times to undo multiple changes. Pressing Ctrl + Y would redo the undo.



Ctrl + F
 
Pressing Ctrl + F opens the Find in any program. This includes your Internet browser to find text on the current page.



Alt + Tab or Ctrl + Tab
 
Quickly switch between open programs moving forward.

Tip: Press Ctrl + Tab to switch between tabs in a program.

Tip: Adding the Shift key to Alt + Tab or Ctrl + Tab will move backwards. For example, if you are pressing Alt + Tab and pass the program you want to switch to, press Alt + Shift + Tab to move backwards to that program.

Tip: Windows Vista and 7 users can also press the Windows Key + Tab to switch through open programs in a full screenshot of the Window.



Ctrl + Back space and Ctrl + Left or Right arrow
 
Pressing Ctrl + Backspace will delete a full word at a time instead of a single character.

Holding down the Ctrl key while pressing the left or right arrow will move the cursor one word at a time instead of one character at a time. If you wanted to highlight one word at a time you can hold down Ctrl + Shift and then press the left or right arrow key to move one word at a time in that direction while highlighting each word.



Ctrl + S
 
While working on a document or other file in almost every program pressing Ctrl + S saves that file. This shortcut key should be used frequently anytime you're working on anything important.



Ctrl + Home or Ctrl + End
 
Ctrl + Home will move the cursor to the beginning of the document and Ctrl + End will move the cursor to the end of a document.



Ctrl + P
 
Open a print preview of the current page or document being viewed. For example, press Ctrl + P now to view a print preview of this page.



Page Up, Space bar, and Page Down
 
Pressing either the page up or page down key will move that page one page at a time in that direction. When browsing the Internet pressing the space bar also moves the page down one page at a time.

Tip: If you are using the space bar to go down one page at a time press the Shift key and space bar to go up one page at a time.

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70. Try “Dropbox” for easy online storage and backup

If you (like me) tend to be lazy about backing up those really essential files or photographs then Dropbox is an easy and free way to keep your files safe. It also helps if you have two or more PCs and you want to access the same files from each one.

OK so total storage is not massive but I am talking “essential files” here.

For instance if you keep records for an organisation in Excel files, or say you do a website and want to make sure you don’t lose your work then this solution is easy and needs no intervention from you once it is set up. You can even share your files with other people.

Go along to Dropbox.com and set yourself up with an account. You will automatically get 2GB of storage and extra chunks may be had by referring friends etc. (Details on Dropbox.com)

When you then allow Dropbox to set itself up on your PC it creates a Dropbox folder. Any files you then add to this folder are synchronised with your “cloud” folder on the Dropbox website. Cool. You now have your working file and a backup file without any effort.

Now when I work on important files (such as these web pages), I work on the ones in my Dropbox folder knowing that when I exit and save the files they are automatically backed up for me to the cloud storage folder. Additionally, by using the same Dropbox account on my laptop, the files are then synchronised downwards on to the laptop PC. So if I want to take my PC to another location to work on any files in Dropbox I know that they are automatically synchronised to the cloud and to my main PC. If I am working in a location without Internet connection then the files will be synchronised as soon as my PC connects to the Internet back at home.

The Dropbox website will provide details of how you can share your files and also allow others to download files from your personal Dropbox Cloud folder. The folders are private and perfectly safe unless of course you divulge your access credentials.

In order to get some Dropbox space you first need to sign up for it. Creating a free account will get you 2GB of space to start. Go to Dropbox.com

This is not an advert for Dropbox and there are others available but this is a free, quick, and easy way to get started. 

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69. Don’t be too quick to accept Friend requests

It’s exciting to see a Friend Request at the top of your Facebook page. You’re likely to accept Friend Requests without thinking twice, especially if it’s a friend or a name you recognize. You may even be thinking that there’s no real harm in accepting all Friend Requests that come your way. Having more friends means you’re more popular…right?

What you may not know is that with name, birth date, education, and work history available online, it’s relatively easy for anyone to create a duplicate of any existing user. Watch out, as cybercriminals could potentially be impersonating you or someone you know for the sole purpose of duping you and your friends!

Keep reading to learn what cybercriminals can do with phony accounts. We’ll share things to keep in mind as you decide whether or not to accept a Friend Request.


What Cybercriminals Do with Phony Accounts

Identity theft:
Facebook is a treasure chest of personal information. If you have a private account, when you accept a Friend Request, the information and pictures that were once restricted from public view become visible to your new “friend”. Because cybercriminals understand that a lot of people accept requests without thinking twice, the chances of someone accepting a request from a phony account is very high. Once cybercriminals have this bounty of information and pictures, it makes it all the easier for them to commit identity theft or other forms of crime.


Malicious Links:
Unless a user has set up their privacy setting, whenever they create a post on their own or a friend’s Timeline, it is made public on the News Feed. With a phony account, cybercriminals have the ability to spread malicious links to a substantial number of people. Once the malicious link is published onto a public News Feed, there is a high likelihood that someone will eventually click on the malicious link, where they will be directed to sites compromised by malware or phishing sites designed to trick users into revealing financial credentials.


Stalking:
In case identity theft and distributing malicious links weren’t bad enough, cybercriminals create phony accounts to stalk people. Phony accounts help cybercriminals stay under the radar, as the person they’re stalking are likely to accept the Friend Request without thinking twice.


Keep Your Eyes Open

Check your Friends List:
In the event you receive a Friend Request from someone you’re already friends with, take a few minutes to search for that person in your friends list. Also, sift through the profile to see if there are signs that the account isn’t legitimate. If the Friend Request is from someone you consider an acquaintance, it’s obviously more difficult to determine if the account is legitimate or not. But with a close friend, make sure to get in touch with them if you receive a second Friend request – if it’s a fake, the account needs to be reported to Facebook.


Reproduced from the Zone Alarm blog.

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68. Don't give your mobile batteries a "Memory"

When a notebook’s battery is in its first flush of youth, it should be good for between two and five hours’ use (depending on the notebook itself and how you’re using it). But the implication in the question above is that the questioner has always run the computer on mains power, and that makes a big difference.

Notebook batteries need exercise – they need to be made do some work. Otherwise they become lazy and dispirited, doing the battery equivalent of slumping in the sofa and watching TV all day. A battery that’s never called upon to do any work quickly forgets how to do it.

If your notebook is always run on mains power, that means its battery is kept fully-charged all the time and is never used. Over time, it gets ever more used to this lazy lifestyle until, when you do need it, it can’t muster the energy to do more than a few minutes’ work before giving up. Windows should give you a warning about low battery power a few minutes before the battery runs out, but if the battery is in such a sorry state that it can never manage more than a few minutes, you won’t get that warning: the PC simply switches off.

With a new notebook PC (or a new battery in your notebook), exercise the battery right at the beginning to maximise its lifespan. Charge it fully, then disconnect it from the mains and use it (or leave it sitting) until its battery runs down, then repeat the procedure, and repeat it again. In ideal circumstances, you’d use it on battery power whenever possible thereafter, but whether you do that or not, try to allow the battery to discharge itself fully every few weeks.

If you never use the notebook on battery power, and you sometimes run into the same problem as the questioner, a simple solution would be to remove its battery. This way, the notebook won’t switch on if you haven’t turned on the mains, so there’s no risk of it switching itself off after a few minutes. (It also makes your notebook a good deal lighter to carry around or to place on your lap!)

If you use your Notebook for long periods and wish to keep it on mains power then again, remove the battery until you have finished the extended use then replace the battery.

With replacement notebook batteries often costing upwards of £50, it’s well worth paying some attention to their well-being and eking out the maximum life from them.

That’s even more important for the batteries in tablet computers. Most tablets are not designed to have their batteries replaced – indeed, you’ll rarely see any sign of a battery compartment – so when a tablet’s battery bites the dust, the dust stays bitten!


With thanks to PC Tips for Seniors  

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