Reference & Help

I hope this collection helps you get more out of using your computer and the Internet, or even creating your own web page. Business resources explain creating a Web site, and how it can work for you while you sleep! I have always provided information about creating a web page yourself. Some of the online tools are from my other sites, such as "Boating in Canada".

Internet Help

1. Software downloads - best free browsers, email readers, Web editors, FTP, anti-virus, firewalls, utilities, office suite.
2. Searching the Web - My favorites for finding information, people, news
   • Reference Sites
   • Deep Web - vast reservoir of information, where to find it.
3. Email & Web mail
   • Stop Spam with Email filtering - manage your mail by moving spam or mailing lists into separate folders.
   • Stop Spam by "Munging" your address - don't become a spam target in newsgroups and Web sites.
   • Outlook Express - setting up a email (POP) account.
   • Synchronize Outlook with Android apps
   • Sympatico email setup in Thunderbird
   • RSS feed setup in Thunderbird
   • Emailing MS-Word documents
   • Email links in web pages don't work!
4. Tweets via SMS (Twitter Canada)
5. Computer Viruses- What are they, how to protect your computer, and how to get rid of them.
   • Anti-Malware software
   • Famous Computer Viruses
   • Six Virus Rules (Internet Tourbus)
   • Virus Notes
   • Palm Viruses
   
6. Online hoaxes - don't get fooled!
   • Internet hoax that was real
   • "Phishing" Attacks - online scams
   • Scam Attacks - protect yourself from identity theft
7. Start a Blog - online news for a club or your family.
8. File Associations - changing the program that opens on a double-click.
9. Cookies - tiny files left behind by Web sites
10. Downloading a browser update as a file (install later)
11. Firefox & Thunderbird addons
12. Bookmarklets - bookmarks that are actually javascript tools that do amazing things. More Bookmarklets
13. Youtube Videos - Play & Download
14. 10-digit dialing connections - change phone or modem dialing from your computer from 7 to 10 digits
15. Send an SMS / Text Message for free
16. Getting "around" interactive voice response (IVR) systems
17. Online Books - most are free to download
18. Google Maps - create a map for web forums, sale ads, and emails.
19. 2 letter Country Codes - used in Internet domains (i.e. "ca" for Canada)
20. Canadian provincial digraphs (abbreviations used for addresses)
21. 
    The icon at right will tell you if you are already using OpenDNS, the free DNS service (I use it). Improve online speed and security for every device in your home network. Website filtering (prevents phishing, porn, botnets) or block entire nasty domains. Create shortcut addresses.
22. Android Help - Forums, Tips, getting apps without "Market" or "Play"
23. Editing and FTP'ing HTML files in Android
24. Android Phone & Ford SYNC - how to connect an HTC Tattoo to your Ford Sync (the manual instructions don't work)
25. Access Pandora radio in Canada on Android

Computer Help

1. Software downloads - best free browsers, email readers, Web editors, FTP, anti-virus, firewalls, utilities, office suite.
2. My Favorite Software - my favorite free and almost free software. Also a list of my favorite ezines and mailing lists. (see #1 above)
3. Online Malware Testing - test and fix viruses, trojan horses, and other malware using online services
4. Computer Basics - by Karl Tipple. A short explanation of computers, operating systems and software.
5. Computer problem checklist
6. Organizing Start Menus (Win 7)
7. Godmode: Create a special folder to access Windows Services
8. Back up your computer - restoring corrupted files and operating systems.
9. Back up your personal files using ROBOCOPY (Win7)
10. Back up your XP/Vista Registry using ERUNT
11. Back up personal files to a disk (batch program)
12. Starting Win7 programs easier (Batch Program)
13. Create Dated File Names (Batch Program)
14. Create a list of all the files in a directory
15. Display last modified date in a webpage - 2 different formats (Javascript)
16. Direct X diagnostics - check graphics/games capability
17. Converting PDF files - convert PDF to text.
18. Emailing MS-Word documents - send email directly from MS-Word the easy way!
19. Removing Windows Messenger (Windows XP)
20. Computer Viruses #1- What are they, how to protect your computer, and how to get rid of them.
    • Famous Computer Viruses
    • Virus Rules (Internet Tourbus)
    • Virus Notes
    • Palm Viruses
21. Mal-ware scanners will scan and remove mal-ware and spyware from your computer.
22. Wireless router security. More Wireless router security.
23. Windows Tips - Keyboard shortcuts, change screen resolution and colours, using the file explorer, and more.
24. Making Windows 7 easier to use. Learn how to search for different types of files.
25. Windows Task Scheduler Problems - web pages that open in the wrong browser, bad file icons
26. Create a screenshot image - using the PrintScreen key
27. Laptop Travel Tips
28. Laptop Cleaning
29. Saving your Cell Phone Battery
30. Digital camera - quality, resolution, and size for fast Web photos or quality printed photos.
31. Screensaver - display a slideshow of your own photos as a screensaver (Win XP)
32. Explorer Icons for File Types - some free icons you can use (Win XP)
33. Desktop Web page - how to put a web page right on your Desktop (Win XP)
34. Windows Vista Task Scheduler - how to edit tasks
35. Why does my computer wake up? - tips for solving annoying startups when your computer should be on standby.
36. External Help:
    • Keyboard suddenly displays the Wrong Keys [PatDrummond.blogspot.com]
    • How to rebuild Windows XP (without losing your applications) [Informationweek.com]

Web Design

1. HTML - Create your first Web page, testing it
   • HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) - basic tags
   • Latin1 Accent Codes for HTML
   • QR CODE image for smartphones to scan
2. File formats - we like to receive your business information in these formats for your Web site.
3. Web Images - formats, palettes, file size and speed.
   • Web Page Colours
   • RGB Colour Codes
   • Size Test - boxes in various screen sizes
4. Creating Beautiful Titles without Images
5. Web Style - Design for accessibilty and speed
   • CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) - common page styles, samples, newsgroups
   • Copyright protection for your work
6. Robots File to control search robots
7. Redirecting Web Page URL Requests
8. Coding a Popup box (Tool tip, mouseover)
9. FTP publishing- Using software to publish Web files.
   • FTP publishing using Ms-Word
10. Digital camera - quality, resolution, and size for fast Web photos or quality printed photos.

    

Business on the Web

1. Web 101 for Business
2. Web 102 Web Marketing
3. Business Web Plan
4. 8 Steps to creating a Web site
5. Starting a Consulting Business
6. Domain Names explained :: Domain Name Authorities
7. Internet statistics
8. Canadian Provincial postal digraphs

People Power on the Net - This Hour Has 22 Minutes proved how easy it is to get 3% of Canadian voters to support a referendum! (humour 2000)

Online Tools

1. Pat's Converter (Javascript) converts kilometres, knots, kilograms, Celcius, litres, US prices, degrees - even Canada/US gas prices.
2. Pat's Calculators (Javascript) - scientific calculator and popup calculator
3. PDQ Monthly Calendar (Javascript) - this month's calendar
4. Moon phase display (Javascript) - displays what the moon will look like tonight, and how many days until a full moon
5. QR CODE - image for smartphones to scan
6. Send a Text Message (SMS) to a mobile phone for free

WindowsSecrets.com provides a free e-zine with very useful information about computers and the Internet, plus forums and searchable library. (Plus! Edition is well-worth the small fee.)