Computer and Web Articles

Using great anti-spam software isn’t the only way to fight spam. You can actually prevent a great deal of spam from getting sent to you in the first place if you can remember to never, ever, ever use your main e-mail address to sign up for anything on the web.

Whether you’re signing up for a user account at a great new online store or you’re signing up to receive a business eNewsletter from a reputable organization, using an alternative e-mail address will help keep wicked spammers from finding and exploiting your main e-mail address. Many sites make a good deal of money by selling e-mail addresses they collect to spammers. Other sites have weak security and therefore they - and your e-mail address - may be prone to hackers. Other sites (such as forums) often post e-mail addresses right onto their pages, practically handing your e-mail address over to e-mail harvesters.

If you have your own domain, create a “throwaway” address, such as signup@yoursitename.com, that you use for nothing other than signing up for services and logging in to online accounts. If you don’t have your own domain, simply set up a free e-mail account at Hotmail or Gmail instead.

This simple step packs a mighty punch and keeps new spammers from finding your main email address. Unfortunately, however, if you’re already on all the spammers’ e-mail lists, you might not notice a big change.

• www.facetofacehealth.com — A social networking site for healthcare co-founded by a Summit County local — Rick Post of Silverthorne.
• http://tinyurl.com/5fct98 — Learn how to create a flowchart in Microsoft Word 2007.
• www.glassdoor.com — See what employees are saying and gain an inside look at companies from those who know them best. Glassdoor.com offers ratings, reviews, and salaries for over 14,000 employers.
• www.stikkit.com — Little yellow online Post-It Notes … that think. This little program “makes organizing your daily details as simple as jotting down a note or firing off an e-mail.”
• http://tinyurl.com/6s6no9 — Mac users — have you ever wished you could turn off your computer’s startup sound? Wish no more and learn how to silence those chimes right here.

One day a fellow by the name of Michael Scrivo got fed up with having to go through a series of windows to access his Outlook Calendar. Being that people use their calendars to organize their daily lives, he didn’t appreciate the unnecessary number of clicks it took just to access the Outlook calendar.

To address this nuisance, Michael developed a program called “Outlook on the Desktop,” which he now allows people to download and use for free. The program places Microsoft Outlook’s calendaring system right smack dab onto your monitor’s desktop. Your calendar is pinned there (so that no windows can show up behind it) and it stays there “all the time in plain sight so you can always see what’s upcoming.”

The Outlook calendar keeps all its functionality — such as direct editing, drag and drop file capabilities, and switching between calendar, inbox, contacts, and tasks views — and suddenly the task of staying organized takes far less effort.

Michael’s program runs on Windows XP and Vista with Microsoft Outlook 2000 SP3 or higher. Learn more at www.outlookonthedesktop.com.

• www.facetofacehealth.com - A social networking site for healthcare co-founded by a Summit County local - Rick Post of Silverthorne.
• http://tinyurl.com/5fct98 - Learn how to create a flowchart in Microsoft Word 2007.
• www.glassdoor.com - See what employees are saying and gain an inside look at companies from those who know them best. Glassdoor.com offers ratings, reviews, and salaries for over 14,000 employers.
• www.stikkit.com - Little yellow online Post-It Notes … that think. This little program “makes organizing your daily details as simple as jotting down a note or firing off an e-mail.”
• http://tinyurl.com/6s6no9 - Mac users — have you ever wished you could turn off your computer’s startup sound? Wish no more and learn how to silence those chimes right here.

One day a fellow by the name of Michael Scrivo got fed up with having to go through a series of windows to access his Outlook Calendar. Being that people use their calendars to organize their daily lives, he didn’t appreciate the unnecessary number of clicks it took just to access the Outlook calendar.

To address this nuisance, Michael developed a program called “Outlook on the Desktop,” which he now allows people to download and use for free. The program places Microsoft Outlook’s calendaring system right smack dab onto your monitor’s desktop. Your calendar is pinned there (so that no windows can show up behind it) and it stays there “all the time in plain sight so you can always see what’s upcoming.”

The Outlook calendar keeps all its functionality - such as direct editing, drag and drop file capabilities, and switching between calendar, inbox, contacts, and tasks views - and suddenly the task of staying organized takes far less effort.

Michael’s program runs on Windows XP and Vista with Microsoft Outlook 2000 SP3 or higher. Learn more at www.outlookonthedesktop.com.

Question: Very often when I’m online (using Internet Explorer) my work is interrupted by an insidious message in a square box about 2 x 2”inches or so. “ERROR” is in the upper left corner under which is a large red circle with a white X through it. Under the X is the message: “A runtime error has occurred. Do you wish to Debug? Line:12 (although this number varies a great deal) Error: ‘com’ is undefined.” Under this message are two boxes: “Yes” and “No.” This message is very hard to get around. Even after clicking the “NO” button and trying to get away, the message continues to pop up over and over again precluding navigating anywhere else. Do you know what causes this, or how to get rid of it permanently? Thanks so much for your help! — Annieb, Silverthorne Colorado

Answer: Hi there Annieb. Yes, I do know this error; I’ve repeatedly seen it slowly drive people toward madness with its ridiculously annoying tendencies. Thankfully the problem isn’t serious and it’s an easy one to solve.

The error you’re seeing (over and over and over again) is actually an error message that’s intended specifically for web developers who are testing and debugging their sites. And of course, I know of a solution.

To prevent the error from appearing in the future, you’ll need to open Internet Explorer, look up near the top of the page, and then click Tools, then Internet Options, then the Advanced tab. You should now be looking at a long list of options and associated checkboxes. Scroll through these options and make sure the following two are checked:

• Disable script debugging (Internet Explorer)
• Disable script debugging (other)

Then, make sure the option below these two (Display a notification about every script error) is *not* checked.

Last, click OK to close the dialog box and your problem should be solved. Bye-bye, annoying ERROR message.