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Need help using your computer or the Internet? Maybe the answer is here? If not, contact techelp@wsmptfa.org.uk with your query.
E-mail
most people collect their emails via a Browser (e.g. using
hotmail, yahoo, aol) or via Outlook or Outlook Express.
If using Outlook/Outlook Express,
it is a wise precaution to switch OFF the preview pane
(View>Layout) for your Inbox, which automatically opens
an email thus exposing your system to viruses.
Also, if you do not recognise the
sender of an email, it is often better to delete the message without
reading it. There are various software programs to help protect
your email inbox - K9 (http://keir.net/k9.html) is a free intelligent
spam sorter, AVG (http://free.avg.com) has a free anti-virus version,
ZoneAlarm (www.zonelabs.com) has a free firewall that helps block
intrusions and Malwarebytes / Ad-aware can each be run to delete
unwanted pop-ups and other software that downloads and installs
itself despite all your precautions!.
Deleted emails are stored in the Deleted
Mail folder. Every now and then, remember to empty this
folder.
Never open attachments unless you are sure of their origin and, in any case, save them to file first and open them when off-line. If you have anti-viral software, it then has twice
the chance of detecting a virus.
Anti-viral
software is usually installed on
a new computer for a limited period and the licence may need to
be renewed after a time, by registration and payment. In any
case, all anti-viral software should be updated regularly to trap
new viruses. Try to update daily
or at least every day that you go on-line.
TWO VERY
IMPORTANT NOTES.
Please do not pass on chain mail
of any kind as it only serves to clog the Internet. If you wish
to forward mail to a number of contacts, here are two suggestions:
cut and paste the main body of the message from the received email
to the new email message (this could eliminate a hidden virus and
will also remove all the previous email addresses contained in
the message, thus reducing the spread of spam) and forward the message
to one person, preferably yourself, and blind copy to the
other contacts - this can be done by clicking on Cc which
then enables you to put email addresses from your Address Book into
the Bcc box. This will stop your contacts’ details being sent
to potentially thousands of computers, reducing the instances
of spam and the risk of spreading viruses.
If you receive virus warnings,
please DO NOT pass them on until you, personally, have taken
the responsibility of ensuring that they are valid and not,
in themselves, a virus or a hoax. Most virus warnings (about
96%) are either hoaxes or so old that they are no longer relevanrt.
It's easy enough to check them on a number of sites by putting the
title in Google or just go direct to www.snopes.com. If in
doubt, you may forward them to techelp@wsmptfa.org.uk
to have them checked out.
Internet Browsing
Some of the fonts used on this web
site are rather small - you may be able to change your settings
to read them. This may be done under VIEW and TEXT SIZE.
Sometimes, when you click to link,
the new information/ picture/ web site will display in another
window. If it seems not to appear, check the task bar - it
is possible that the new window has opened behind the one in your
current view or has replaced a window that has been minimised.
For example, many links from the PTFA site open in a window called
“news” so if you click on more than one link it will replace the
one that was previously in that window.
If the web site seems out of date,
it may have loaded from the cache (memory) on your PC. Use
the View/Refresh button to ensure that the latest version
is loaded from the Internet.
Easy access to this web site:
There are many ways of doing this.
The following notes refer to Internet MS Internet Explorer but other
browsers will be similar.
To choose the PTFA web site as your Home page (appears automatically when you open your browser online), use the drop down menus at the top of the browser window: Tools/Internet
options/General tab - in address box type http://www.wsmptfa.org.uk
To save in Favourites folder
(IE5), have the web site open in your browser and click on
the Favourites drop down menu, Add to Favourites,
click on a folder and click on OK. If you have
the View / Toolbars / Links option ticked, you can place
this web site link on it for even easier access, by dragging
the icon to the right of the name from the Favourites drop
down menu and dropping on on the Links bar.
If you would like to create a shortcut icon on your desktop
to directly access the PTFA web site, first ensure that you can see the desktop as well as your browser, then use the right-click button of your mouse to drag the Link onto the desktop. As you release the button, a small menu will appear - click on Create Shortcut Here and an icon should appear on your desktop.
To change the icon: right-click on the icon, choose Properties from the bottom of the menu then Change Icon for your selection, OK.
To change the name under the icon: right-click on the icon and select Rename, type PTFA or a description of your choice.
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