Howtosoftware

Deleting alll your Andriod contacts

admin — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 21:15:38 +0000

Ahh the wonders of real-time data sent to our phones can be a blessing or a %%$## mess!!!

So, here are the steps to empty the contacts on your phone and then re-synch.

Turn Off synch on the phone

Go to Applications / Manage Applications, make sure via Settings / Filters that you’re showing all the sys apps too.

Then edit settings for the ’Contact Storage’ app and ‘Clear Data’.

That will clear all the contacts on your droid.

Turn sync back on

Introducing Google +

Ilsa — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 00:15:34 +0000

Google has recently introduced a new social networking site that allows you to use all your Google applications and network in one place. It also has some convenient filtering in the form of “Circles” which allow you to control your friend groups and share your information with the people you want. I have made a quick video overviewing the new Google+ so you can see what the features look like and learn a little about how to get started after all not everyone is invited yet.

I will be making many more videos soon and hope you come back to check on them and learn more about this new social network. Check out the first introductory video here:

-Ilsa W.

New iGoogle Lessons

Ilsa — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 00:11:03 +0000

Hello everyone

I am working on lessons for iGoogle and just posted some new ones to show you how to customize your iGoogle homepage. Please let us know if you have any suggestions in the Contact section of the website

Check it out! http://howtosoftware.com/howto.php?v=1405

-Ilsa W.

Keyloggers are a serious threat to your money

admin — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 17:33:28 +0000

Most computer users are aware that malicious software can be installed on their computers without their knowledge via attachments or infected websites. The nastiest types are programs that are called keyboard loggers. That means every keystroke you make is recorded and sent to some criminal site which they can use to log into your online bank account and empty your money. Keeping your virus and spyware programs up to date is imperative, but your computer can still be compromised.

All hope of keeping your password safe from hardware keyloggers should not be lost if you use the simple strategy of entering passwords with an on screen keyboard. Windows XP has one preinstalled simply press the Windows+U Keys to bring up the Utility Manager which has the option of activating the windows on screen keyboard or if already logged in Click Start–>Run and type osk.exe to bring up the on screen keyboard. It takes a little longer and some getting use to but if your computer is in a unsecured place like an open office at work or a dorm room and someone wishes to do you harm by stealing your passwords its worth a little inconvenience.

Extend your laptop’s battery life

admin — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 07:45:02 +0000

Extend your laptop’s battery life

Dirty connectors can degrade your laptop’s battery life. To clean them, first turn your laptop off and unplug it.Make sure to turn it all the way off, not just close the lid or put it in sleep mode. On Windows, this is accomplished by choosing “Shut down” from the Start menu.

After that, turn it over and check to see how it says to remove your battery. There is usually a switch that you have to click to the “off” position, then another one that you have to pull back and hold while you’re taking the battery out. If you aren’t sure what to do, consult your laptop’s instruction manual (and if you lost it, you can usually find one for your model of laptop online).

You can wash the gold contacts on your laptop and its battery by using a cotton swab or other gentle cloth, that’s slightly damp with rubbing alcohol. Just make sure to let it dry completely before plugging it back in.

Note to Apple laptop users, not likely that you can do this. Thank you Steve Jobs.

Excel keyboard shortcuts-where the ALT are they?

admin — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 17:49:51 +0000

I started using computers before the mouse took over the desktop, so I still prefer key combinations for common functions. Like F5 (function 5) for opening the GoTo dialog in Excel. Microsoft has done an excellent job of hiding the shortcuts in 2007 and 2010, for whatever reason.

Here is a link to a page that has all the shortcuts.

Facebook Face Recognition Lets Friends Tag You

Ilsa — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 22:57:00 +0000

We just posted a new video in response to an article about the new Facebook face recognition app. See the article: http://www.fastcompany.com/1758259/how-to-block-facebooks-face-recognition-and-tighten-other-privacy-settings?partner=homepage_newsletter

Apparently Facebook suggests pictures to your friends to tag that may be pictures of you. You will be alerted if a friend does tag you but essentially you can be tagged while offline and not realize it. The feature is automatically enabled like most new Facebook features so we made a video to show you how to disable the feature. Check it out by clicking the image:

Text messaging about to get much cheaper, thanks to Apple

admin — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 21:21:48 +0000

Text messaging, which was not intended to be a big deal on cell phones by the service providers, has become a huge money maker. The carriers did not have to add any, repeat any, technology to its existing voice technology in order to start charging for text services. Apple, with its new iCloud services is going to take away that extra profit because its cloud service will transmit text messages to every Apple device you own. Only Apple or Google (Andriod) are large enough to take this head on because they own the software platforms. My guess is Google will be next to announce their own service.

The great article on this change can be accessed here.

Dropbox security challenged

admin — Fri, 27 May 2011 17:04:54 +0000

Dropbox is one of those “cloud” apps that allows you to store your files in a location that makes it easy for you (and anyone you want) to access the files from anywhere.According to David Scott, in a post to his eCulture blog,

According to David Scott in his eCulture blog, Dropbox has a major hole in their security that would allow anyone at Dropbox to decrypt your files. According to David, the keys for both encrypting and decrypting are also stored. If you want to be 100% secure, you will need to encrypt the files before storing them on Dropbox.

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While this is a problem, it is not critical at this point in that the only access was by employees and you can still encrypt your files to make them secure. I am certain that within minutes of this exposure, Dropbox will announce a fix.

Douglas Wolf

Credit Card Information and Facebook

Ilsa — Thu, 26 May 2011 22:27:43 +0000

If you are as addicted to Zynga games on Facebook as I am you know how fun they are. What you might not know is if you have ever purchased items for the game using a credit card that Facebook automatically saves that information.

They have security features to protect it but I know I feel more comfortable knowing it is not saved. Watch the video linked bellow and learn how to remove this information from your Facebook and do your part to protect your online security.

-Ilsa W.