Announcements

McAfee Anti-Virus & Firewall- Sweet Deal!

Guess what?! 

We have the newest version of McAfee Anti-virus & Firewall bundle in stock! And it's better than ever!

Your price? Right now it's only $18.97 (FREE US shipping)! This package goes for $69.95 in retail stores, so $18.97 really is an incredible deal. (You like saving nearly 75% off retail right?)

Now, why would you want it? Well, first off I found it to be just a bit easier to use than Norton. The whole program is put together in a sort of wizard interface. You pick a task, then you get a screen with options. You pick an option, and so on until you get done what you want done. It's very intuitive and I was extremely impressed with how simple it was to use. And we all want easy to use, right?

As for features, the anti-virus program does a fantastic job. It takes care of over 60,000 different viruses including e-mail attachments, Internet downloads, shared disks, CD-ROMs, and synchronization with your PDA. McAfee VirusScan software also detects destructive ActiveX and Java applets, which are often downloaded without your knowledge while you browse.

Of course, it automatically updates itself while you're online so your virus definitions are kept up to date without you having to remember to do it. It also has an uncanny knack for monitoring suspicious activity. For example, I sent an e-mail twice, and it stopped the process and checked with me to make sure I was the one doing the sending (since viruses will do that too).

So, it not only stops current viruses, but also can keep an eye out for suspicious activity that could be caused by a yet-to-be-reported virus. Nice huh?

As for the Firewall component, that's fantastic too. It's really easy to setup and use. Remember, a firewall is used to keep hackers out of your computer and your anti-virus software will NOT be able to stop them. You need a firewall.

Time and time again I hear about computers getting hacked into. Information is compromised, files deleted, and in some cases the whole system needs to be re-installed. Almost without exception, the hacker problems are worse than the virus problems. We even have a lady working here who had hacker problems (we got her a firewall and she's fine now).

One of the best uses for this firewall (aside from keeping hackers at bay) is its ability to monitor and inform you about programs that are trying to access the internet.

For example, if you have a piece of spyware sending your information to someone, your firewall will detect this, notify you of it, and let you stop it. Or, if you have a virus that's trying to send e-mail using it's own SMTP server, your firewall will catch it in the act and protect your friends and contacts.

Again, the firewall that comes with this program is very easy to configure and extremely easy to understand. I really like the way it's designed.

Whew, that's about it. Be sure to head to the site and take a look at this incredible value. For $18.97 you can keep your computer safe from both viruses and hackers! I can't even come close to this deal with Norton. Here's the info link:

http://www.worldstart.com/store/mcafee-7.0.htm

PS - Don't miss out on this deal. Anti-virus and firewall software is something everyone needs on their computer and this combines power and ease of use in a way few others can. Plus, the price is fantastic!

MS Office 101

Using the Keyboard to Highlight Rows and Columns in MS Excel

Here's another quick key combination to use in MS Excel submitted by one of our readers.

This one allows you to highlight an entire row or column with just two keys - and no mouse!

• Ctrl + Spacebar will highlight the column of the cell currently selected.
• Shift + Spacebar will highlight the row of the cell currently selected.

You can then combine this information with the Shift + Arrow keys to highlight several rows or columns.

There you have it - just a couple more tricks to add to your ever-growing list of keyboard shortcuts.

Thanks Joseph for your input. Happy highlighting, everyone!

Office Tip of the Day

Make It Perfect

Have you ever found yourself trying to make a perfect square or circle using the drawing tools for a rectangle or oval? Or maybe you're trying to draw a perfectly horizontal or vertical line?

Did you find yourself eyeballing the measurements and angles hoping you were getting close?

Did you know that it's possible for you to use the drawing tools to make these perfect shapes without all the guesswork?

Well, if you didn't, now you do. The question becomes, how?

The answer is a lot easier than you might think - it's all in the Shift and Ctrl keys.

To make a perfect square, circle or line you'll need to click on the proper tool in the Drawing Toolbar.

Your cursor will then turn into a plus sign, indicating that you're ready to draw.

BUT… before you do hold down the Shift key.

Now begin to draw.

Notice anything?

You should - normally you would be drawing an oval, rectangle or a line at any angle - but with that Shift key you're now drawing only perfect squares, circles or lines at very specific angles.

Oops… did you forget to hold down the Shift key before you started to draw?

No problem!

Simply press the Shift key anytime and the drawing will change into the perfect square, circle or line immediately.

Release the Shift key and you're back to the ovals, rectangles and lines at any angle imaginable.

Now - let's talk about how the figures are drawn by the program.

As you were drawing you probably noticed that each picture was started from its upper left corner. In other words, wherever you clicked became the upper left corner of the shape.

It is possible to draw the figures from the center out (as opposed to the upper left corner).

This is accomplished with our other favorite key, the Ctrl key.

Simply activate the drawing button for the shape you need then hold down the Ctrl key and draw.

You should find that you're shape is begun in the center. In some cases, this can make it easier to position your drawing correctly from the beginning - cutting down on the time you spend moving things around later.

You can use these two keys in combination, drawing perfect squares and circles from the center out.

I've experimented using these keys with clip art and have found that they work well. They can help when you resize a piece of clip art so your picture doesn't become too fat or too tall.

Now the only question is what will you do with all the time you'll save not messing around with the shape of your drawings… automatically perfect.

If only we had some "automatically perfect" keys for a few of the other things in life.

~ April