Of late, Good Booters are e-mailing me asking why they're receiving an ever increasing amount of spam (unsolicited e-mail) and how they can guard against it. It seems that in the pecking order of computer aggravations, spam has supplanted the Windows Blue Screen of Death and viruses as the number one novice aggravation.

I suppose that after the last Pony Express rider hung up his saddle and our forefathers began receiving mail delivered directly to their log cabins, they too became annoyed when they first discovered junk mail in their mailbox. I suggest the reason was they believed it was an invasion of privacy for anyone to use their personal address to send unsolicited advertising. So it is not unreasonable to suggest that those new to e-mail might have the same attitude toward spam.

Any new method of communication as significant as e-mail will attract marketeers — legitimate and nefarious — so it follows that spam undoubtedly will become just another opportunity for the advertising community to display their wares. And it goes without saying that, once the novelty wears off, we'll treat it as we do junk mail.

Have we not learned to sort junk mail between post box and kitchen and then unceremoniously trash it? Well, then why not do the same with spam by substituting "Sort and Trash" with a "Spam Salute" — a no nonsense, premeditated Right Click, Left Click.  Note: the "Spam Salute" is based on the universal Windows feature of Right Clicking to get information (in this case, a menu), Left Clicking to execute (in this case, clicking delete on the menu).

Spammers get your e-mail address by buying it just like junk mail advertisers. Selling your e-mail address is a cash cow for e-mail carriers, and it's perfectly legal. Sure you can complain to your e-mail carrier, and if the spam is offensive, most carriers will try and block it. But in most cases, effective blocking lasts only about six months. Bad-guy spammers have the same philosophy of survival we old infantrymen had. When one becomes a target, a hasty relocation is best for one's survival.

There's one suggestion I do have: Never respond to a spam by clicking on the "don't send any more e-mail" box. Legitimate advertisers may oblige, but because you have confirmed your e-mail address is active, they'll sell it to the world for a premium price.

If you receive an average amount of e-mail in general and spam in particular, forget about contacting your carrier, filtering programs and complicated relocation to designated folders. Manage your spam by giving it a good boot "Spam Salute!"

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.   [index]

Last week I addressed the issue of spam. The subject by itself might lead one to believe that e-mail and the Internet are in the private domain of nefarious characters waiting to take advantage of your hospitality.

Yes, there are bad guys, but with a bit of common sense and a Spam Salute, you can keep them at bay. Then you will be able to concern yourself with just the good Internet stuff, like Web shopping — one of my favorite sports. I've discovered that I can find what I want, compare competitive pricing and purchase quickly and conveniently. When you shop on the Internet you're shopping the world. And when you discover eBay, you can save a bundle!

Trust me when I tell you if you use good judgment and a few precautions, Web shopping is safe — certainly safer than installing AOL 8, and far safer than allowing an unknown restaurant server to take your credit card out of sight to run your tab. However, it goes without saying that before participating in any Internet activity, you should have your antivirus program updated and conscientiously adhere to Compu-Doctor, David Keller's four rules for safe computing.

Let's assume you've selected what you want to purchase and you're ready to buy. When you click "buy" make sure you're presented with a "Do you want to be taken to a secure site?" panel. Always say yes, as at a secure site, information transmitted is encrypted. I suggest you don't order from a site that doesn't provide this option. Now look down in the lower right of your browser. You should see a little brass padlock if it's locked, it means the site is secure.

When your credit card has been approved and your order processed, you'll be presented with a recap of pertinent information concerning your purchase and an order number. Print it. Within a short time, sometimes only seconds, you'll receive an e-mail confirmation. Print it.

Witness an actual Internet purchase at our user group meeting at 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 14, at the Lee Memorial Hospital Auditorium at 2776 Cleveland Ave. in Fort Myers.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.  [index]

What motivates no-nonsense, battle-hardened World War II veterans and moms to rush out and purchase an expensive, state-of-the-art computer, something they likely know nothing about, or for that matter, care about?

These are the same people who during the Great Depression had to pinch every penny to ensure there was food on the table.

Some might say the motivation was "Mom, Dad - please get a computer and e-mail to keep us posted on how you're doing." I suggest it was "Grandma, grandpa - please get a computer so I can play my computer games when I visit you."

Regardless of what it was, today it seems its the CD-RW. Why? Because the CD-RW is arguably the most successful way of providing those of us who have accepted that immortality is not a plan, to permanently preserve for posterity our memories and a record of the events of our lives.

The CD-RW is a wondrous machine. For those who have experienced the ultimate computer tragedy of losing irreplaceable data and now use it to back up, I don't have to extol its virtues. But know there are many other reasons one should consider becoming a "burner."

Think of it.  You can now sort all those shoe boxes full of photos, select the most cherished and then bum them permanently onto a CD your great-great-grandchildren can view and print. Should you decide to really get into it, you can restore damaged and fading photos with inexpensive, user-friendly software programs and then burn them to a CD.

And if you have a digital camera, so much the better. You can completely eliminate the shoe-box syndrome by downloading photos directly to your computer, selecting and burning the ones you want and then deleting the unwanted.

But know you can also do myriad other things with your burner. Preserve important documents for posterity, like your discharge papers, favorite recipes and The News-Press articles and pictures that recount events that were important to you in your lifetime. And how about all the wonderful music you've accumulated - from Spike Jones and the City Slickers to your Beatles collection? All can be easily transferred to CDs.

I recommend very few computer seminars. But there's one at 1230 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 14, in the Lee Memorial Hospital auditorium I guarantee is worth suspending your holiday activities to attend. David Keller's (Compu-Doctor) novice friendly seminar on how to become a successful "CD-RW Burner."

Why not "learn to burn" all those photos taken with the digital camera you hope you'll receive as a holiday gift? For information and reservations, contact David at 277-7100 or compudoc@cyberstreet.com.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.  [index]

Recently I advised Good Booters that rather than becoming aggravated about the junk E-mail they receive, they give it the Good Boot Spam Salute.

When I reread the article I realized how cavalier I must have seemed about a subject that's a serious concern to so many.

Not only do I apologize, I'll let you in on a little secret. I go ballistic when I discover Spyware, a.k.a adware, installed on my computer not because it's a serious threat to my privacy, but rather because someone believes they've the right to invade it without my permission. Sound familiar?

Spyware is a hidden software program that transmits user information via the Internet to advertisers — usually hosted by free, downloaded software.  It's not illegal.  Some software programs do provide a warning they host spyware and an opportunity to refuse it.  But the warning is usually buried in the small print.  If you don't refuse it, by default it will be installed. It tracks your browsing habits — the books you order, the music you download. It also provides information to advertisers on what advertising banners you click on, the duration of your visit to an advertiser's site and personal demographics. As you browse the Web the information is collected and the next time you access the Web, the information is uploaded.

Some Spyware is so brazen it attempts to connect you to the internet without your permission, to expeditiously upload the information.

And even if you decide to uninstall the host application from your system, guess what? The spyware will remain on your computer, often buried within the Windows registry.

You may believe you're insulated from this insult to your personal privacy because you don't download free software or share files (P2P). I've been told the information gathering opportunity provided by spyware has attracted the attention of some Internet service providers. Question anything they or anyone offers to install on your system.

An indicator of how popular spyware is becoming is the number of anti-spyware programs becoming available. I use Ad-Ware 5 Plus (www.lavasoftusa.com). A super little inexpensive ($15), user-friendly program, it hunts down spyware and adware programs wherever they're hiding in your system. For me it's been worth the price just to watch Ad-Ware root out the rascals and then let me give them the Good Boot Spyware Salute.

A sincere thank you to the over 1,000 who've subscribed to the upcoming premier edition of the free Good Boot E-mail Newsletter - a guaranteed collector's item.  If you forgot to subscribe — send me your E-mail address (fmbigal@embarqmail.com).

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.  [index]

Can you imagine clicking on your Outlook or Outlook Express shortcut and receiving the following Windows notification: Windows cannot find Outlook or Outlook Express? I bet that would spoil your day!

Although these two e-mail handlers are extraordinarily sophisticated programs, for some unknown reason Microsoft hasn't deemed it necessary to provided a user-friendly way of backing them up or restoring them. I cannot understand why, because for most, an address book and contacts data files become irreplaceable, and perhaps to a lesser degree but still important, Internet Explorer Favorites and Cookies.

In fact, without a sophisticated third-party backup program, you must dig deep into Windows and the Windows Registry to find all the files that will allow you to restore Outlook Express or Outlook should you corrupt Windows or the programs themselves. Even moving the data from one computer to another can be a frustrating experience.

I use Outlook, which in my opinion, is the most sophisticated a-mail handler and personal information manager available. To ensure I would be able to restore it and my critical Internet Explorer files successfully, I would have to back up my:

• Settings and Control information (extend.dat).

• Personal and Data Folders (Outlook.pst).

• Settings and Control Information (outcmd.dat and outlook.FAV).

• Signature Files (.htm, .rtf  and .txt).

• Custom Forms (frmcache.dat).

• Registry Data (Internet e-mail accounts, Outlook options settings and Outlook categories).

• Internet Explorer (Favorites and Cookies).

I recommend Outback Plus for Outlook and Express Assistant for Outlook Express (www.ajsystem.com). Both programs are inexpensive, $30, and user-friendly. They back up every file needed to restore or to move Outlook or Outlook Express from one computer to another.

Adobe PDF now standard  (12/16/02)

Until recently, Adobe PDF (Portable Document Format) was a "what's that?' computer term for most novices. However, because this marvelous electronic document distributor has become the standard of the industry for electronic document distribution and because it's used by the U.S. government and most companies to send documents and forms via the Internet, it's best you be aware of it.

Adobe PDF is a universal file format that preserves all the fonts, formatting, graphics and color of any source document, regardless of the application and platform used to create it The PDF files are compact and can be shared, viewed, navigated and printed exactly as intended by anyone with Adobe Acrobat Reader software.

For example, when the Good Boot newsletter arrives, it will be an e-mail PDF file attachment if you opt to take advantage of a free downloaded copy of our Computing journal offered in the newsletter, it too will arrive as an e-mail PDF file attachment. In both cases a click on the PDF file will produce a complete document that you can read and/or print.

PDF documents are not meant to be altered. In some cases if they're not locked, they can be scanned or copied and pasted into a word processing document. I'll discuss this next week.

The Acrobat Reader program allows you to efficiently move page by page through the document, viewing each page in its entirety or if necessary, magnifying a portion of the page. You can print a page or the entire document in full color without losing any of the document's original integrity.

Adobe Acrobat Reader is "free" and a "must have." You already may have it.  Some computers come with it installed (try searching for Adobe). The reason you may not be aware you have it is because Acrobat Reader only executes when you click on a PDF file. If you don't have it installed, go to www.adobe.com and under Support, click-on "Download Acrobat Reader," then the icon with a check mark "Download Reader." Even if you do have it, I suggest you download the most current version.

If you have a questions or concerns, e-mail Dwayne Alton, dwayne@netoffices.com, one of our consulting technicians. Because a PDF file is compacted, it reduces download time. With DSL or cable, it's a whiplash download. With standard dial-up connection, its a bit longer.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.  [index]

It wasn't so long ago that scanners were the darlings of the computer industry. I think every Good Booter with whom I discussed scanning intended to scan-in all their shoeboxes full of old photos and every document they accumulated over the years. What will you bet they've yet to do so?

Although scanning seems to have taken a back seat to digital photography, I do receive questions about OCR (optical character recognition). This is the process of scanning a document and converting it to text that can be edited by a word processor.

The question most often asked is "Why does the OCR program that comes with the scanner create a word processing document that takes longer to correct than it would to type it in the first place?"

Regardless of what you scan, the original scan is a graphic. When you scan in a document, the scan becomes a picture of the document. This is why you cannot edit it without an OCR program.

More often than not, the OCR programs that come with a scanner are so unsophisticated that unless the document to be scanned is written in a clear Times Roman, 12-point font on quality paper, the OCR program has difficulty recognizing and translating it.

The process? Simple. You place the document in your scanner, open Omnipage and click on scan.  Omnipage does the rest. It starts the scanning process, and when completed reviews it much like a spell checker.  It stops and highlights questionable text, allowing you to make any needed correction to its interpretation. When the scanned page is to your satisfaction, you save it as a document in your favorite word processor's format.

I can't list all Omnipage's features, but I can tell you what it can do is just short of miraculous. No matter how the original document is formatted, be it multicolumned, a spreadsheet or PDF file, you'll be amazed at how intuitive OmniPage is. It will even translate 144 languages (to include Southern).

Here's wishing you a Good Boot

(Webmaster's note: The newspaper articles on this page where scanned from the weekly Business section of the News-Press using Omnipage 12.  Al Winchell's picture was left out of the scan.  They were copied to the Clip Board and pasted into the web page editor.  The font was changed to Comic Sans MS.)   [index]

Here's list of resolutions for the Windows-shy

A beleaguered novice's New Year's resolutions:

• I'll use my thinker before I tinker and not be tempted to discover what's under the cover of my computer. For undressing the Beast that sits on my desktop may offend the computer gods.

• I'll always seek advice and never guess when a Windows panel appears offering options for a solution to a problem. For Good Boot's Law of Option Guessing states: "The correct option will always be the other option."

• I'll not delete something I didn't create myself by using a program's "Save" or "Save As" command or receive as e-mail. If I am tempted to do so, I'll flip a coin. If it's heads, I won't delete. If it's tails, I won't delete. If it stands on end, I'll surely not delete. For if I do, Windows will punish me.

• I'll faithfully observe CompuDoctor David Keller's Rules for Safe Windows Computing, by keeping my Norton antivirus software up to date. Also, by never opening an email attachment - or if I am an AOL or CompuServe user - never downloading an e-mail attachment unless I can answer yes to the following four questions: Do I know who the attachment is from? Do I know what the attachment is? Do I know what the attachment does? Did the sender create the attachment (keeping in mind that if an attachment is part of a forwarded e-mail message, the answer is no)!

• I'll always use a qualified tech to set up my computer or to fix a computer transgression. I'll never again consult an Ellie or my neighbor Muck it up Mac.

• I'll never use third-party utility programs, for example, System Works, as they'll color my Windows Blue.

• I'll seek advice before I upgrade (particularly an AOL upgrade).

• I'll visit at least one computer club meeting to discover why 2,000 Southwest Florida novices faithfully attend.

• I'll open my Windows wide by purchasing a Beleaguered Novices workbook.

• I'll greet my spam with this verse from Good Boot's Book of Balladry, "Prescriptions for Computer Sanity."

Last week I presented my recommended Beleaguered Novice New Year's resolutions, one of which was to always use a qualified technician.

Folks, am I embarrassed for I must confess to the 2,000 Good Booters who subscribed to the Good Boot newsletter that I failed to practice what I preach I didn't consult a qualified tech.

To make a long story short, I discovered that I couldn't simply e-mail from my computer an extraordinary number of e-mails to any individual carrier, e.g.,AOL or Earthlink. The reason is the carrier will consider it spamming and block them. But you'll be glad to know that future newsletters will be posted expeditiously as I've regained my "reasonable reasoning" and persuaded Dwayne Alton, a Web site wizard, to manage all the "technical stuff."

Those who received my December newsletter are already aware of our fabulous first-quarter presentations. But because they're so extraordinary, I want to ensure all Good Booters have an opportunity to discover why one of my other Beleaguered Novice New Year's resolutions was to attend a computer club meeting.

And to entice procrastinators, have I got a deal for you! Just introduce yourself as a Good Booter and attend without cost or obligation:

• Our User Group meeting at 5 p.m. Thursday at the Lee Memorial Hospital auditorium. David Keller (Compu-Doctor) will vindicate my reason for nagging you about having a technician set up your computer.

Using a national brand computer and monitor with factory default settings, he'll present a multimedia demonstration of all the tweaks a professional technician should make to ensure your computer is "all it can be." David will also demonstrate how to set your Systems Restore feature to ensure if you fail to use your thinker before you tinker, you can return your computer to optimal performance without having to call for professional help.

• You also can attend one of our chapters throughout Lee County. Dwayne will present the first of three classes on how to use your digital camera and digital support peripherals (scanners, photo printers), edit your digital photos and manage your digital photos. It is a miniseries based on his renowned digital seminars. I guarantee you'll be mesmerized by Dwayne's nonteckie talk presentations.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.

To subscribe to our free monthly Good Boot newsletter, just send me your e-mail address.
fmbigal@embarqmail.com         [index]

For our complete schedule, go to www.swfpcug.org. Attend your first meeting as my guest without cost.