Fred’s Favorites
Welcome to my help page. Over the years I’ve received call from friends and coworkers asking for help or advise. I’ve tried to put the FAQs here on one page to make everyone’s life easier. Let me know if you have questions or suggestions.
Computer General Maintanence
Is your computer running slower than it used to? If so, you probably have spyware installed. There are 2 great programs that will usually fix you right up, and they are both free.
First download and run AdAware from LavaSoft. Click on AdAware to go to the download page, then install and run it. Make sure you select “Check for updates now” before running it each time. Then click Start and Next and it will scan you rPC.
The next program to run is SpyBot Search and Destroy. Choose a download site, install it, then check for updates, install them, and then scan your PC.
After running both of those your computer should be running much faster.
Now you should check your entire system. Run all of the tests at http://pcpitstop.com and follow their suggestions on changing some of your settings.
Now that your PC is running better, it may be time to change browsers. Firefox is superior to Internet Explorer, it’s free, and it’s easy.
Virus
You are running an antivirus program aren’t you? If not, here is a free one that I really like. It automatically updates itself and then tells you it’s done. Download it (Avast), install it and forget it.
Shopping
There are 2 sites that I check daily for special deals. GotApex is updated at
Programs you need but that aren’t free.
I’ve found 2 programs that are almost indispensable. The first, AudioXtract, from Jambalaya, is a must if you listen to music and have broadband. This $50 program will receive up to 8 internet radio stations, capture the music to mp3 files, and name them properly. It even monitors your had drive and doesn’t store duplicates. This is the computer equivalent of hooking you tape recorder to your radio. You can then burn CDs of your own mix to listen in the car, or copy the mp3s to your portable player. That’s less than the cost of 10 albums on iTunes, and you can build an unlimited library.
If you have a digital camera and you like to share your pictures with friends, FlipAlbum is a must. This program builds picture books that you can burn to CDs and distribute. Check out the demo on their web, it is really good. Note that this is a referral page and I get a commission on anything you buy here. It isn’t much and isn’t why I have the reference here, but I thought I should point it out to you.
Interesting sites
Kim Komando has a weekly radio show dedicated to computers. Her web page has some interesting information and she has some free daily newsletters that provide good tips for the beginner to intermediate PC (and Mac) user.
DPreview is a site dedicated to digital photography. There is a lot of good discussion on the forums, but please read some posts before making your first post. This site is aimed at the serious amateur photographer to the working pro.
Slashdot calls itself News for Nerds and that’s what it is. If you want to find out what’s going on in the computer industry or actually the nerd community check out this site. If you click the “read more” link under each story you can see what the nerds are saying about this story. Usually pretty insightful, occasional strong language.
Urban Legends
When you get an email from someone and it sounds true but you’re not sure, like a sweepstakes notice or virus warning, do you wonder how to check it out? Snopes is the definitive location to look up this stuff. Go there before forwarding anything from anyone and it could save you a lot of embarrassment.
Search Engines
Everyone should know and use Google, of course. But did you know that you can customize it? Select preferences (next to the text input box) and you set how many results/page you want to see, and choose to have each search opened in a new window. And don’t forget you can put in a Google toolbar in your browser window and avoid ever going to the Google home page again. As a free bonus it also has a popup blocker that does a good job blocking pop ups.
NEW
Google will now index your computer too, so you can use the google search index on your own personal files, outlook and outlook express emails, and your browser cache. It's still in beta, but go to http://desktop.google.com to read about it and download it.
Web Site
Get your own free website:
bravenet.com