If your computer is not functioning properly, it might be infected by a virus (or spyware or adware) …and you may find help through some of the links and resources on this page.

It is very important for the average user to have anti-virus software on their computer, and to keep it up to date.

If your computer is healthy now, but you do not have anti-virus software installed, you should protect your computer without delay.

Here is a link a free antivirus most preferred by many students:

• Free Antivirus: avast! Home Edition
  http://avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html

Free for non-business home use
“Daily automatic updates ensure continuous data protection against all types of malware and spyware. Simply install and forget.”

Also visit this page for Microsoft’s  checklist of important precautions to keep your computer healty:

• From Microsoft: 4 Steps to Protect Your Computer
  http://www.microsoft.com/protect/computer/default.mspx

Configure your Firewall, Automatic Updates, Anti-virus and Anti-spyware

When Trouble Strikes… If you think your computer is now infected with a virus, spyware, etc. these resources will probably help:

• “Signs of viruses: Are you infected?”
  http://www.microsoft.com/protect/computer/viruses/indicators.mspx
  
  
• “Beware of Rogue Security Software”
  Fake virus pop-ups may be bait, trying to trick you into installing rogue “security” software.
  http://www.microsoft.com/protect/computer/viruses/rogue.mspx and
  http://www.microsoft.com/protect/computer/SIR/Vol6.mspx
  
  
• Windows Live OneCare safety scanner (free from Microsoft)
  http://onecare.live.com/site/en-us/center/howsafe.htm
  
  
• Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool (free from Microsoft)
  Finds and removes common threats
  http://www.microsoft.com/security/malwareremove/default.mspx

Many viruses and spyware problems can be prevented through the use of up-to-date security software. Preventing a problem is much easier than fixing it!

original photo credit: TedRheingold

Even when the textbook instructions are followed correctly, the Current Events Report will not match the Figure 12.50 on page 895.

I created a video to help solve the problem:

Access Project 12B: Solve the “Empty Report Problem” from Professor Coverdale

The problem: After April 2009, in Access Project 12B, the Current Events Query and Current Events Report do not display information when using the data supplied by the textbook instructions.

The reason: The Current Events Query only future events. The data provided by the book’s instructions include only events dated before May 2009 (now in the past).

The solution: Modify all event dates in the Events Table so that the Start Time and End Time occur in the future. The student results should then match the pictures in the book.

In this post are a collection of tips that will help you manage your RCC email communications better.

With these tips you can

• Activate your RCC email account
• Forward your RCC email account messages to your favorite email account
• Forward your WebCT email to your favorite email account

Tip Number 1:
Activate your RCC Email Account

RCC provides you with a free, personal email account which is used to send you information from the college.

Information you need to activate and use this account is in this video:

RCC Email Tutorial

Tip Number 2:
Forward RCC email there to your favorite email account

If you already have a favorite email address, have your new RCC email account forward messages there automatically

Information you need to complete this step is in this video:

How To Forward RCC Student E-Mail To A Personal E-Mail Account

Tip Number 3:
Forward WebCT email to Your Favorite Email Account.

This tip will only work if your instructor has enabled this option in WebCT.

1. Log into your WebCT account.
2. In the upper left hand corner of the screen, click on My Settings

Click "My Settings"

1. On the Settings page, click the button labeled Edit Profile
2. On the Edit Profile page, put your favorite email address in the appropriate fieldBe sure to un-check the “Public” option to protect the confidentiality of your email address
3. Click the Save button
4. Now to actually forward those email, click the tab labeled My Tool Options

1. Scroll down to the settings labeled “Mail” and check the setting “Forward all messages…

1. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the Save button — All your class email should be automatically sent to your favorite email address!

Important:

You cannot Reply to WebCT email without using WebCT.
Any replies you try to send from your forwarded email account will bounce!

This video assumes that you have already enrolled in an online class at RCC. Also, it does not cover the steps you need to follow to be sure that your browser is configured properly. For more information on these topics, visit http://www.opencampus.com/help/

tinyurl for this page = http://tinyurl.com/5d8ptc

Strangely enough… they may still be on your hard drive.

To improve system responsiveness, when Windows deletes a file, it does not take the time to actually erase the data encoded on the hard drive. The space occupied by the “deleted” file is treated as empty space — which means the old file may be overwritten by new data at any time. However, if the hard drive has a lot of free space, the old data may remain intact for weeks or months.

Good News: If you accidentally delete a file, you may be able to get your data back…

Many utilities exist that will help you recover your lost data, such as the popular Norton Utilities. Another popular product is Pandora Recovery — and it is free for personal use.

Pandora runs on any modern version of Windows, including Vista. It will scan your NTFS hard drive and bulid a list of all deleted files — along with a estimate of the chance for successful recovery. For the inexperienced, Pandora is loaded with wizards, hints and context-sensitive help. Power users will appreciate the detailed information Pandora provides, and the ability to search for and preview deleted files.

One limitation of Pandora is that it is only intended to recover files from the hard drives of Windows computers (i.e. under the NTFS file system, which is standard for modern versions of Windows). As a result, Pandora will not recover files from USB flash drives, floppy disks, Mac hard drives, Linux hard drives, etc.

Tips…

When faced with a data recovery emergency, avoid any activity that might destroy recoverable data. In other words, don’t download and install Pandora onto the same hard drive that needs recovery. If you need to recover data from your system disk, remove the hard drive, install Pandora on another computer, and attach the recovery-drive to that machine as a secondary drive. Also, when recovering files, save them onto a flash drive or other storage device… not onto the same drive holding the deleted files.

To increase your chances of recovering your lost files, install Pandora and check out the built-in help, so you have it ready and know how to use it when you need it. You may also want to consider buying Pandora Mobile Recovery Preinstalled on a flash drive. According to the manufacturer…

Pandora Mobile Recovery is a portable version of Pandora Recovery that requires no installation and is distributed together with a removable storage unit (512MB USB jump drive) as a part of Pandora PowerPack. Every user of Pandora Mobile Recovery enjoys an increase in the data recovery success rate through two major direct benefits…

1. No deleted data gets corrupted during the installation process. (Each installation of any software takes up some space on your hard drive. This will likely overwrite some of the deleted data making it unrecoverable.)
2. No deleted data gets corrupted during recovery. If you recover deleted files to a drive that the data originally resided on, the recovered data will have to take some of the space on the disk. (It is very likely that some of the deleted data will get overwritten and corrupted in the process.) With Pandora Power Pack you can simply recover the deleted data to the Pandora Mobile Recovery removable storage unit.

Sources:

Pandora Recovery Home Page
http://www.pandorarecovery.com/

Pandora Recovery Tips
http://www.pandorarecovery.com/file_recovery_tips/

Pandora Recovery at cnet.com
http://www.download.com/Pandora-Recovery/3000-2094_4-10694796.html

Pandora Recovery at softpedia.com
http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/Back-Up-and-Recovery/Pandora-Recovery.shtml

This document has rights reserved under
Creative Commons
Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.

Small Print: The information on this site is provided AS-IS without representations or warranties of any kind concerning the work, express, implied, statutory or otherwise, including, without limitation, warranties of title, marketability, merchantibility, fitness for a particular purpose, noninfringement, or the absence of latent or other defects, accuracy, or the presence of absence of errors, whether or not discoverable.

This applies to Version 6 of WebCT, currently in use for CIS 1A.

The Problem:

You need to attach a file to an email message, or submit a file for a homework assignment, so you click the Add Attachments button…

…but when the upload file tool appears, it has a “broken image” and doesn’t work:

– click image for larger view –

The Solution:

The WebCT upload tool is a Java applet. You should check three things:

1. Do you have Java installed?
Go to http://java.com/en/download/installed.jsp to learn about Java and verify that you have Java installed, and to download it and install it if you don’t have it. (You will want a good Internet connection… the download may be as much as 14 MB.)

2. Are your browser security settings too high?
Go to http://www.opencampus.com/help/browser_settings.html and click the link link for your particular browser. Look for “Required Browser Settings” and follow the steps described there.

3. Did you give permission for the Java applet to run in your browser?
After logging in to the Blackboard/WebCT environment, you will be prompted to accept a “Java Security Certificate”…
For best results, click Always to use Java-powered features in your browser. Click the image below for a screenshot example:

– click image for larger view –

If you are having the problems described in this email. Close and restart your browser, then log into your online class again, accepting the Java Security Certificate as described above.

Sources:

http://www.opencampus.com/help/

Many users think they have antivirus protection because some antivirus program was pre-installed when they purchased their computer. However, these trial versions only offer complete protection for a limited time. An expired antivirus program does not receive updates — and because it’s out of date, doesn’t protect your computer from newer viruses and malware.

Keep reading for information on a reliable, FREE antivirus solution….

Avast! Home Edition® (from ALWIL software) is available FREE to home users who don’t use their computers for business or commercial use.

Avast! is not the only free anti-virus product, but unlike some other free solutions, avast! provides resident protection for your computer. Resident protection (a.k.a. background protection or on-access protection) transparently scans each file before your computer uses it, stopping viruses before they can harm your machine.

Other features of of avast! include…

• IM / P2P Shield
  Protection against infected files received by messenger clients or peer-to-peer file transfer
• Network Shield
  A lightweight firewall
• Web Shield
  Protects against malicious web pages
• Email Protection
  Transparent; works with Microsoft Outlook®
• Automatic Updates
• Low System Requirements
• Award Winning
  5-star rated by CNET’s Download.com
  SC Magazine’s Best Anti-Virus Award
• ICSA Labs Certified
  Regularly receives the Virus Bulletin 100% award (detection of 100% of in-the-wild viruses)

ALWIL recently announced the registration of the 40 millionth user of avast! Home Edition antivirus software. The first avast! antivirus Home Edition user registered in January 2002. Regarding the growing popularity of avast, the company’s Joint President Pavel Baudis stated

“Internet security is a reality and a vital necessity today; no longer just a nice-to-have requirement….[our] world class, reliable security is now protecting 40 million users from threats to their valuable data and programs that exist on the internet today…. With avast! it is simply install and forget; updates are automatic and then you’ll only hear from avast! when you need it most: when you’re under attack.”

Installation notes… After installation, avast! functions for 60 days in “demo” mode. To continue using the program your should obtain a free license key by E-mail registration. The free license is good for one year and may be renewed for free. ALWIL collects email addresses to notify users of product upgrades, special offers and new services from ALWIL Software, if they so request.The company pledges that ALWIL Software will not share that information with third parties without your permission.

Information about avast! from avast.com:

Since 1988 ALWIL Software has produced antivirus products that have been developed into the multi-award winning avast! antivirus product line. Headquartered in Prague, in the Czech Republic, ALWIL Software develops and markets avast! antivirus products that protect every major operating system platform and every major vulnerable device type. Further details about the company and its products can be found on ALWIL’s corporate website, www.avast.com. AVAST is a registered trademark in the United States of America and other countries and is used under exclusive license to ALWIL Software a.s.

Sources:
http://www.download.com/Avast-Home-Edition/3000-2239_4-10747101.html
http://avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html
http://avast.com/eng/home-registration.php
http://avast.com/eng/press-home-edition-40-millionth-registration.html
http://avast.com/eng/privacy_statement.html

http://www.trymicrosoftoffice.com

Here’s some info you should keep in mind…

• If you have used any BETA versions of Microsoft Office, you must uninstall them before installing the trial version of Office.
• You can run Office 2003 and 2007 on the same machine, except for Outlook: if you use Outlook, you may install only one version, Outlook 2003 or Outlook 2007.
• If you uninstall any software (like the 2003 version of Office), you will need the original media and product key to re-install that software, if you decide to uninstall Office 2007 at the end of the trial period.
• Office Professional 2007 includes Access 2007 — other versions may not include Access.
• When you download the software, you must provide your email address.
• You will receive a 25 character Product Key at the email address you provide.
• To use the Free 60-day trial version of Office 2007, you must activate the trial software over the Internet.
• The trial period begins with activation.

Downloading the software will require a fast Internet connection (like DSL or Cable)

Read all the information on Microsoft’s download site carefully before you install the software; follow the instructions. Currently Microsoft is offering a 60-day free trial; obviously, they may change this offer in the future. Answers to frequently asked questions are available here: http://us1.trymicrosoftoffice.com/faq.aspx

Other resources…

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/default.aspx

tinyurlfor this page: http://tinyurl.com/tryoffice

You can do the same thing from almost any application by installing a free Acrobat-compatible “printer driver”. You’ll be able to create Acrobat documents from any Windows application that can print to a regular printer.

A good FREE program is PrimoPDF, available at http://www.primopdf.com. This program has PDF features not available in Office 2007, such as password protection.

Vista compatible. Spyware free. No cost.

After installing PrimoPDF, you can create an Acrobat format document by “printing” — just use the application’s Print… command; then choose the PrimoPDF printer driver. You’ll be prompted with a Save As… dialog to choose a location and filename for your new PDF document. Finally, send your newly-minted PDF document to all your friends who have the free Adobe Acrobat reader!