Announcements

Jaw Droppin' Anti-Virus & Firewall Special!

Guess what?! 

We have the latest version of the McAfee Anti-virus & Firewall bundle in stock! And it's better than ever! We've had a lot of our McAfee fans asking about this one lately, so here ya go!

Your price? Normally we sell it for $18.97. Since this retails for $59.95 that's a really good deal. However, between now and Sunday (04-20-03) you're price is only 14.97! Is that incredible or what? That's 75% off retail!

Now, why would you want it? Well, first off it's easy to use. 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 a pro-active 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 $14.97 you can keep your computer safe from both viruses and hackers! 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

MS Word's AutoComplete Feature

Did you know that MS Word has a function to AutoComplete text?

No?

I bet you did - you just didn't know what it was called.

Think about it. I'm sure you know about the little yellow box of text that "pops up" at what appears to be mystical moments during the day.

Well, as you may have guessed by now, those moments aren't so mystical after all. That's the AutoComplete feature hard at work.

Basically what's happening is that the AutoComplete feature is turned on and you've typed in a character combination that matches an AutoText entry or the beginning of a date. So Word, being a "wonderful little helper", is trying to save you some time by giving you the option of using the AutoText or date that popped up.

For example, while typing the phrase "Dear Mom and Dad," you might see the following appear:

What was that you said?

Was it "Oh yeah - that thing. Now I know what you're talking about."

(I thought you'd know once you saw an example and I'm sure you just one earlier this morning.)

Good - now that we're all on the same "page" - let's learn how to control the "little helper".

Office Tip of the Day

Use It, Lose It, or Momentarily Disable It

Decisions, decisions, decisions…

These are your choices when dealing with the AutoComplete in MS Word.

To "Use It" you need to decide to accept the AutoComplete entry (exactly what's in the bubble) and then hit the Enter key. The entire text string will be completely filled in and you're ready to move on.

Good - now that you know how to "Use It" let's get to the "Disable It" part.

Usually you can just keep right on typing and the AutoComplete suggestion will disappear without another thought.

But what about the times when Word is trying to finish something that is already complete - i.e. you want it exactly as you've typed it and you need to hit the Enter key next.

What do you do?

We know that if we hit the Enter key with the AutoComplete suggestion still showing it's going to fill it all in - causing you the headache of deleting all the unwanted text.

(Definitely not a suggestion I would give.)

So what's the solution?

The Esc key - of course.

(It almost makes sense - after all, you're trying to "escape" the AutoComplete feature for a minute or two.)

The next time you're trying to hit the Enter key without the AutoComplete adding it's current suggestion simply hit the Esc key.

The AutoComplete "bubble" will disappear and you're then free to continue on with your work.

(You might want to note here that the AutoComplete was simply denied this one time - it will continue to make suggestions throughout your document. It's not turned off - it's just taking a quick nap.)

Now, finally, let's discuss the "Lose It" part.

In other words, for everyone who wants to turn this feature completely off, these are the steps for you.

You will need to begin with the Insert menu, AutoText submenu then AutoText choice. (Alt, i, a then x will work here as well.)

This will take you straight to the AutoCorrect window and put you on the AutoText tab. (Which, by the way, is exactly where we want to be :-)

You're looking to uncheck the box for "Show AutoComplete Tip for AutoText and dates".

Then click OK.

And there you have it - no more AutoComplete "bubbles" to mess with your documents.

Use it, lose it or disable it - now you have all the control you need. (Yeah, I know, if only the control extended to other things in life.)

~ April