Anti-Spy

One thing I do to help fight spyware and Ad-Aware, I have two different anti-spy scanners. I use both on a regular basis. All three are free. I use Ad-Aware and the Yahoo toolbar anti-spy . You can get the Ad-Aware at this site.

http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/

The Yahoo toolbar, which includes the anti-spy software, can be downloaded here,

http://toolbar.yahoo.com/

The two software applications catches what the other does not find. I find they work well together. Melissa.

A Free Pc-Tune Up

Here is how to give your pc a free tune-up. You don't have to do this in order. :)

1.) Make sure you have all the windows (if you run windows) updates. Go the start menu and on the top of the programs menu is the windows updates link.

2.)Do a disk cleanup. In Windows XP, go to Start Menu>Programs>Accessories>System Tools>Disk Cleanup. It is not a good idea to get rid of your office setup files. You may want to keep those if you have office. And if you get rid of your temporary files your web browsing may be slower. It is good to do this every week at least.

3.) Do a disk defragmentation. It is usually better to do this after a disk cleanup. Do the same steps as in disk cleanup, however chose disk defragmentation instead of disk cleanup. If you have not done this in a long time it may take hours. It is better to do a restart after a defrag. You need to do this at least once a month.

4.) Make sure your anti-virus and anti-spy software are up to date. It is good to do this every week. There are plenty of free antivirus and anti-spy software available for download.

5.) After you check for updates on your anti-virus and anti-spy, do a scan.

6.) Free some hard drive space and go to the Start Menu>Control Panel and double click on Add or Remove Programs icon. Use this to get rid of any software programs you may not need or do not want anymore. You can also use this to disable any Windows programs you may not need. This will also free some space. It is best to do a restart after any uninstall.

6.) If you really want to tune up your PC. Do a diagnostic scan for free at this website. They will scan your PC for free and recommend things to do to make it run better. I do this on a regular basis. http://www.pcpitstop.com/

Have fun doing this free tune-up. It is worth the trouble. :) Melissa

Gunk Busters!

Great article on how to dejunk your Pc for free and change some settings to get it running like new again. :) Melissa  

Windows Vista

Everything you could possibly want to know about the next edition of Windows, Windows Vista.  

Forest Scene

forestscene
Originally uploaded by webdesignermr.

I made this in Photoshop. I followed this wonderful tutorial. I love Photoshop! :)

http://www.tutfac.hominghost.com/tutdb/index.php?/archives/78-Forest-Scene.html

Digital Camera How Tos

Here is a cool listing of different how tos for your digital pictures and camera. There are dozens of ideas. Some of them are, photographing underwater, how to do different photographic retouches, and more. Check it out! :) Melissa 

The Christmas Tradition

Want to know the history of Christmas, customs, traditions, and symbols? Here are dozens of links to pages that tell about the Christmas tradition. Happy Holidays, everyone! :) Melissa. 

Flickr.com :)

Flickr is an neat photo sharing website. It is free for the basic account. And you can control who sees what pictures. You can add comments on your pictures. You can also quicky and easily publish your photos to your blog. Have fun, at Flickr! :)  

PC Tune Up

Hello, I wanted to let you know how you can give your pc a free tune up. After awhile, your PC collects cookies and temporary files and other stuff while surfing the web. It is best to do some housecleaning and get rid of all that stuff. Youc an do that with disk cleanup. You can reach disk cleanup in different Windows operating systems. I know Windows Xp so if you have Windows Xp. go to the start menu, click on Accessories > System Tools > Disk Cleanup. Then just follow the instructions.

Then after doing that, you need to do a defragmentation at least once a month. This helps Windows put files where they need them. Sometimes files can get out of order. To do this, after a disk cleanup, go to the start menu > system tools > Disk Defragmenter. If you had your pc for awhile, and you have never done a disk deframentation, it may take hours. Have fun! Melissa.

About.com

This website has articles on literally hundreds of topics. You are sure to find an article on a topic of interest at this site. Have fun! :) Melissa 

Clear Type

Hello,  Here is a trick  to make type easier to read on the computer monitor. You can turn on clear type. Clear Type smooths edges of screen fonts. This makes it much easier to read on screen. To turn it on in Windows Xp, , right click the desktop and click on properties. click the Appearance tab. Then click on the Effects button on the bottom right of the box. You then click on the check box that says "Use the following method to smooth the edges of screen fonts."  and choose ClearType. You will notice a dramatic difference. Enjoy! Melissa. :)

Skype.com

Hello all! I wanted to direct you to this site that allows people to talk to one another over the Internet. They have a basic free membership. You can talk to anyone with a Skype account anywhere in the world. And you dont have to worry about long distance charges. Here is the website link.

 

http://www.skype.com/

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Hello, I just wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! Hope you have a wonderful one! :) Melissa.

leroy3

leroy3
Originally uploaded by webdesignermr.

Wanted to share my parrot, Leroy. :) Pretty Bird! :) M.

A Million Thanks!

Send a thank you to all the military men and women past and present. They risk their lives in order to save our freedom in this country. You can send your thank you through this website with a card, letter or an email. So far, this site has collected approximately, 1,600,000 thank you letters!! Go here and you can show your support! :)

 

http://www.amillionthanks.org/

 

 

Free Online Classes at HP

I wanted to share with you that you can take free online classes at HP on different digital topics. They have classes on how to tune up your computers, firewall basics and digital photography. Try it out today!


http://www.hponlinecourses.com/?mcID=HHO3

Free online projects by HP

Hello. I wanted to share with you some free projects you can do on the HP website Activity Center. Theres lots and lots of projects you can do here for free. Even sign up for a free online class. Some of these projects are, scrapbooking, cards, iron-ons, gift wrap and boxes and more. Here is the site.

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/activityCenterHome?lc=en&cc=us

Have fun! Melissa

driving is fun

driving is fun
Originally uploaded by Ben McLeod.

Just a really kewl picture. :) M.

LD Online :)

Hello. I wanted to share a nice informative website with you. It is called LD Online. This is information about students dealing with a learning disability. This site has so much information in it. This is a good site, so check it out!

http://www.ldonline.org/

Melissa. :)

Thank you, Mermayd for this link! :)

BookCrossing.com

Read a book, register the book, release the book. It is the three R's of book crossing. This website is an interesting idea. You read a book, register it and recieve a special number code online. Then you give it away, or leave it somewhere. Then whoever finds it will go to this website and records journal entries for it. Then they do the three R's for it. Give it a try!

http://www.bookcrossing.com/home

Thank you, Olympia for this site! Melissa :)

Walmart music store

Hello. I wanted to let you know of a music site that lets you download music (legally) for less than most other sites. I have downloaded some songs from them. They work fine. Most songs on here are for .88 cents. Most other sites charge at least .99 for a song. Go here to check it out!

http://downloads.walmart.com/swap/

Melissa

Online Directory

I enjoy this online directory. My favorite part is the Reverse Lookup. I use this quite a bit. It takes a phone number and locates its source. You can type in a phone number and it will look up where it resides at. Very useful site.

http://www.anywho.com/

Melissa :)

Informative Computer Sites

Some informative computer sites can be found here:

Pc Mechanic has alot of stuff for the pc fan. Learn how to install a hard drive or build your own pc and much more.

http://www.pcmech.com/

Another great one can be found here. Very informative and is my favorite.

www.pcworld.com

Identity Theft

Interested in learning more about Identity theft? Go here:

http://www.idtheftcenter.org/alerts.shtml

:) Melissa

financial advice

Want good financial advice? Go here:

http://clarkhoward.com/

Melissa

Net Lingo

Interested what brb, lol and ttyl and many many other net lingo mean? Get hip and go here.

http://www.netlingo.com/index.cfm

:) Melissa.

free stuff for your PC

hello, I am often surpised at what you can get for free on the Internet. Need an office program for your computer but refuse to pay the high price of Microsoft Office? Go here for a nice alternative.

http://www.openoffice.org/index.html

A free anti-virus program that works well is the AVG free edition antivirus program. Go here.
http://www.download.com/AVG-Anti-Virus-Free-Edition/3003-2239_4-10342876.html?tag=lst-0-2

A free firewall program can be downloaded here. It is by ZoneLabs. :)

http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/catalog/products/sku_list_za.jsp?dc=12bms&ctry=US&lang=en&lid=dbtopnav_zass

A free (yes there's more) anti-spy program can be downloaded here. It is called Ad-Aware.

http://www.lavasoft.com/

Keep in mind that all of these programs are for personal and private use only. Not for commercial use.

enjoy! :)

computer diagnostics site

Having computer trouble? Well, this site will examine your computer and suggest tweaks and settings that may help fix common computer problems. It is safe to use and it is a free service. I have used it many times. Go here, create and account, and follow the instructions. Have fun!

 

http://www.pcpitstop.com/

Photoshop website

Hello, I wanted to share a website I like for all of you Photoshop addicts
out there. Here is one with thousands of tutorials for PShop. Go to:
http://www.good-tutorials.com/ check it out! :) Melissa